Melody of the Heart
by mimimiao
Summary: Kyoko gets some new offers, including one she cannot refuse. She wants to learn more about her friends through this acting journey, and surprisingly learns more about herself as well. RenXKyoko primarily. A bit of everyone else and other pairings too.
1. Chapter 1

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 1 – New Offers Pt 1

With a deep sigh, Kyoko straightened her back and started getting dressed into the obscenely bright pink LME jump suit that was her work uniform. It was neither fear nor embarrassment of wearing the outfit that had her sighing, despite the super eye-catching neon color. After all, Kyoko considered herself lucky for being able to wear the LoveMe costume, considering her failure to enter as an LME talent having failed the LME audition almost a year ago. Instead, the sigh stemmed from the nerves and distress she had been shouldering since she received that phone call late yesterday.

She shrugged her arms into the long sleeves with a hard shove, determined to get through the day in one piece. With her battle armor now donned and civilian clothes properly folded and stored in the locker, she lifted her head, and purposefully walked up to the door to leave the room. The door knob turned itself, just as she reached for it, and the door swung open, barely missing slapping her outstretched hand.

Kyoko's eyes went from wide open in surprise to a glittery sparkliness that made her amber eyes seem larger and brighter as she recognized the new entrant to the LoveMe locker room.

"MOKO-SAN!" she cried out, reaching out instantly to drag LoveMe's second member, dressed in an equally eye-catching jumpsuit, into a big hug.

"STOP!" was the sharp response she received. Kyoko stopped in the middle of her best-friend-hug pose to Kanae's palm in front of her.

Kanae sighed an internal sigh of relief. In the split second that she opened the door, she realized that due to their proximity she wouldn't have been able to dodge the hug-bullet fast enough. In instinctive self-preservation, the one word was the most she could get out. And lucky for her, Kyoko's reaction to the sting in her voice that came from her brief panic appeared to freeze her faster than any maneuvers Kanae could have mustered otherwise.

Quickly side stepping into the room and away from the still-frozen-in-place Kyoko, Kanae noticed her best friend's eyes make yet another change into a tear-filled shimmer as Kyoko thought that Kanae was upset at her for something. No sooner had Kanae gotten to a safe distance from her, Kyoko reached for her again and immediately started wailing apologies for whatever she did wrong, crying that she could not leave her because she was her best friend and she would be so lonely she would kneel and beg until she was forgiven even though she did not know what she did wrong and was not worthy of being forgiven.

"MO! Enough already! I am not mad!" Kanae shouted as she expertly avoided the flaying arms that were trying to hug her while trying to kneel down in dogeza at the same time. Trying to stop the unneeded and excessive bowing, Kanae finally gave in to let her best friend hug her. Though it couldn't really be considered a hug, since Kanae's hands were pushing on Kyoko's upper arms in a weird angle, so as to keep as much distance between them, but close enough to let Kyoko's hands clasp her shoulders. But the contact did the job, and Kyoko calmed down a little, with eyes still shimmering.

"You just surprised me, that's all! I open the door and a pink blur pounces at me, of course I'd be surprised, right! It could have been a crazy stalker fan for all I knew!" Kanae said the first excuse on her mind, already cursing herself in her thoughts for how lame it sounded even to herself.

"But Moko-san, this is the LoveMe locker room. It could only have been me or Amamiya-san in here." Kyoko responded with innocent confusion.

"MO! You never know how crazy people can get! The fan stalker could have hidden in this stupid room, waiting for me to return to ambush me!"

As if now seeing the logic of her LoveMe compatriot's comments, which to anyone else would have been faulty beyond reason since the LoveMe locker room was in the secured LME building that screened everyone that entered the building and monitored hallways with cameras, Kyoko's eyes widened again in shock and despair because of the distress she must have caused her best friend by surprising her like that and she completed her previous attempt to kneel in a dogeza and cried, "I am SO SORRY, MOKO-SAN! I did not consider your feelings and made you scared because I recognized you instantly and could not stop wanting to hug you!

"MO! I get it already! Don't you need to be somewhere right now? Weren't you on your way out?" said Kanae quickly, picking her up before Kyoko went into another apology outburst of bowing.

Kyoko straightened back up again and said, "Yes, I have to go see Sawara-san regarding some new offers I received last night." Her face slowly became downcast again, as she thought about meeting the head of the Talent department of LME who governed over her and the other LoveMe girls.

"What is that face for?" Kanae said, her voice rising a little as she thought angrily about her own lack of new offers. "You're supposed to be happy about getting new offers, because that means you are being recognized and are given more chances to show your acting to everyone!"

"I know, but Moko-san," Kyoko whined, "Sawara-san said that Sacchou-san was very excited about one of the offers for me, and really wants to see me accept the role."

"So," Kanae said, glaring at her.

"So if it is another bad girl role, or some other horrible role, like having to play the servant of the wealthy family that mistreats and abuses me and punishes me to work without eating," Kyoko said, matter-of-factly.

"Then I have to accept the role any way because Sacchou-san would be disappointed in me if I didn't!"

"Not to mention that Otou-san told me that I have to act no matter what the role or I will be a ham actor, and I don't want to be a ham actor that cannot act roles that I don't like!" Kyoko continued.

"MO! You don't even know what role you are getting and you are already distressing over stupid things!" Kanae stomped her foot, annoyed.

"But.."

"No buts! Go see Sawara-san now and find out what roles you are offered before you start imagining what kind of horrible roles you have gotten!" Kanae interrupted, strictly.

She saw Kyoko about to answer again, and quickly added "And if it is really as bad as you imagined, you can complain to me afterwards and we can go decline the President properly together."

Brightening at the word 'together' from the mouth of her best friend, Kyoko smiled and nodded, "Hai!" as she gave a quick bow to Kanae and skipped out the door, cheerily, woes forgotten.

Kanae pinched the bridge of her nose as she felt the stirrings of a headache, realizing what she may have just gotten herself into. She was getting careless around that girl. What was it about her that made her unable to see that sad face without wanting to dash it away in a hurry. She needed to prepare better excuses.

Sinking into one of the chairs in the room, she wondered about what kind of offer LoveMe member number one could have gotten that would have made the President so excited, and quietly hoped it would be something that Kyoko would be able to accept without qualms.

Besides the Kyurara commercial that brought the two pink friends together, Kyoko's list of acting achievements was growing, with one complete drama series as the proud and demonly fearsome antagonist, Hongo Mio, a well-received PV as an unbelievably beautiful yet devil-like angel, and her latest role in the Box-R series of Katagiri Natsu, the fashionable and seductive leader of a group of high school bullies. It certainly seemed like Kyoko had only been able to expand on the bad girl roles she so strongly disliked so far.

But she always seemed to get such raving reviews from acting in those roles any way, which annoys Kanae since that factor alone makes her unable to understand what Kyoko dislikes about them so much.

Still, she hoped that Kyoko's offers weren't going to be something crazy like having to play a vicious and demented serial killer that collected body parts.

She shuddered slightly at the thought, and picked herself up to get changed and go home.


	2. Chapter 2

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 2 – New Offers Part 2

Unbeknownst to her pink counterpart, Kyoko was having the same thought, and was in a deep gloom as she desperately prayed that the offer wasn't going to be something like that. She had started running through the possible bad-girl-slash-evil roles in her mind to steel herself for the upcoming blow and had come across the serial killer one only to have the thought train get stuck on that one for a while and her creative over-imagination escalating the evil deeds to outrageous proportions.

Kyoko's form now resembled a slime dragging itself across the floor as she finally reached Sawara-san's desk. The middle aged man called Sawara Takenori, or Sawara-san, looked up to the talent who had so silently approached and jerked in his chair when he saw the dark face of the talent in front of him.

"I am ready, Sawara-san," Kyoko's doom-filled voice said slowly, as if she was meeting her executioner.

"Hah? What are you ready for?" The talent head said, utterly confused by her tone.

Kyoko just moved her head in the direction of the bright pink folder that had the LoveMe logo printed boldly in the center.

Following her glance, Takenori gathered his wits that were frayed by the same tingling feeling that he got when he met this pink-clad girl for the first time. "Ah, your offers!"

Clearing his throat, he continued, "You have received several decent offers this time, a few of which will definitely bring you even better offers if you complete them successfully."

"Honestly, for an actress who has only been in the industry for just around a year, sometimes I feel like I am witnessing a real life Cinderella story."

Some of the gloom left with the mention one of her favorite fairy tales, and Kyoko looked up at Sawara-san as he continued, "Well, the first offer is for a make-up commercial that will not be starting immediately, but in a few months." More gloom left, and Kyoko's eyes finally had a glimpse of sparkle in it as another one of her favorite words was mentioned.

"It is a brand that likes to use Visual Kei celebrities to endorse their product, called Breeze. Ah, right! Your friend, Fuwa Sho, has done a couple of their commercials, and is going to be participating in this as well!"

The gloom returned to Kyoko with an extra shade of red, and she clenched her fists to control the dark aura from taking shape at the mention of the number one top musician in the industry whom she had sworn to make feel defeat under her hands.

Takenori continued, ignoring the sudden yet familiar chill, "In fact, it was the angel look in his PV that you participated in that made them interested to use you for their next commercial. It seems that Fuwa Sho recommended you, so they are trying to have you for the princess role that ends up in a happily ever after scenario with the prince."

The dark aura started expanding and shrinking repeatedly, as Kyoko was torn between the offer for a non-bad-girl role, that was a princess no less, and the twist of fate that would make her have to act out a disgusting happily ever after with the person who threw her away that she once worshipped as a prince.

_At least, it wasn't a bad girl role. Maybe the others will have a princess role too! _As she came to the conclusion that she rather not consider this offer until she heard the rest.

Several grudges popped out of the gloom and quickly tucked that offer into a far corner of the mind pending the trial, and the gloom steadied itself again.

Meanwhile the talent department head continued, "The second is a small role in a film that looks like it may end up with either a PG-13 or R rating. You would play the male lead's substitute home tutor that ends up in one of his daydreams thanks to his S and M inclinations."

"S and M?" Kyoko asked, curiously.

Takenori looked up at her from the sheet without moving his head and said, "I have a teenage daughter and would rather not explain that to you. So, if you don't know, you better look it up before you choose to accept this one."

Still confused, she mentally noted to look that up later somehow.

"Anyway, the next offer is…" Kyoko patiently continued to listen to the next three offers.

There was a commercial for a fizz drink similar to Kyurara but directed by some not-so-well-known director (Sawara-san's words, not hers), a guest star role for an ongoing teen TV drama to play a distant cousin that comes back for a visit to add some spice and twists to the plot for a couple episodes, and another small role in a movie, where she only has a few lines and gets killed off by the sinister serial killer early in the movie.

She shuddered at the last one, remembering her earlier thoughts. She definitely preferred being killed rather than being the killer. Though the role itself didn't seem too interesting. Kyoko filed that in her mind as a 'Probably Not'.

"And the last one I have for you today is the most special one," Takenori announced, more cheerily now that the gloom level had reduced to a very light gray aura.

Kyoko flinched internally, and prepared herself again for the finishing blow.

"This is a very exciting one for the President, for a few reasons," he started. Kyoko waited not-so-patiently for him to continue. "Firstly, this is going to be the first drama series in 5 years that Director Takamura Usagi will be heading."

"She is a close friend of the President's and has just returned here from America after a personal hiatus. She had it in her head to start this drama series, and came to the President for permission for her less-than-normal request."

Kyoko's eyes widened slightly as she considered the last part, but Sawara-san answered her question by continuing, "Which leads to the second reason the President is so gung-ho about it – she wants it to be an all LME series."

Brightened at the thoughts of being able to act alongside Moko-san and all her friends from LME, she took a step closer, excited to hear the rest.

"Furthermore, the story is very well thought out, and includes a wide range of emotions, including the President's favorite…" Takenori was interrupted by an intense pressure around his throat as he tried to say the word 'Love'.

Kyoko's grudges slowly released their hold as their master told Sawara-san that she understood what he was saying, and politely asked him to continue. Clearing his throat that was now free from restriction, he continued, "Yes, uh… well, the President thinks this will be a great opportunity to develop better relations between the people in LME. Everyone, from the actors to the gaffer, will be LME staff."

"He has especially high expectations for you, and wants you as one of the main actors in this series. "

"He believes the role is well within your means, and that it will do good for your career. Of course, you are allowed to choose for yourself whether you want to accept the offer after you read about it," He held out a folder for her.

Gulping, Kyoko nodded warily and reached for the outstretched folder. But the head of the department did not let go of the folder.

"But…"

_Uh-oh._

"Should you choose to decline the spot, you will not be allowed to participate in the series at all."

Downcast, Kyoko thought that it must be a bad girl role and that there weren't any other roles that she'd be offered to play in that series.

"So take a look at the story and your role, and let me know what you want to do about it tomorrow," he finished, finally letting go of the folder.

"Yes sir," Kyoko said quietly. Bidding her superior goodbye with a bow, she started to leave.

"And if you were wondering," Sawara-san said as she reached the door, "I will be talking to Kotonami-san tomorrow about her part in the series. She's being offered the other lead female role in the series."

Turning around quickly, her face alight with joy, Kyoko bowed again deeply to him and replied with an enthusiastic, "Thank you, Sawara-san!"

When the door closed behind her, he remained looking at the wooden frame.

_She probably already knows that her admired sempai, Tsuruga Ren, is also being casted for the series, since it IS an all LME project, _the talent head thought to himself. _Besides, what girl would mind being able to act as the love interest of the number one heart throb of Japan._

* * *

><p>AN: I edited this chapter to change the way Sawara-san called Kanae to Kotonami-san. As pointed out by Shiroyuki76. Thank you for your review and critiques._  
><em>


	3. Chapter 3

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 3 - Plots

Ren pulled his car into the nearest available spot by the door to exit the LME car park. It was a few minutes short of 8 in the evening, and he had one final errand to run for the day. He had to pick up his own offers from his manager's desk, because the usually efficient Yashiro Yukihito, had decided to be careless this one evening.

As Ren had stopped to drop Yashiro off at home earlier that evening, Yashiro had made the quiet announcement that he had left Ren's newest offers on his desk at LME. Casually, he mentioned that Ren should pick it up to read tonight, since the LME headquarters was on the way to Ren's place. Then, he said goodnight, thank you for the ride, closed the car door and turned and walked away before Ren could get a word in.

_Well, it gets me away from his nagging about my 'boring and uneventful love life', _Ren thought sarcastically to himself, as he walked through the quiet corridors to the office.

The lights were dim in most of the building now. Ren's long strides quickly took him to the door of the area that hosted majority of the managers' rooms. As he walked in to Yashiro's office, he heard a slight scuffling sound. Ren stopped in his tracks. He was about to shrug it off and continue to the desk when he heard the sound again.

"Who's there?" Ren said in a menacing voice.

A loud thud was heard from around the desk, and a familiar voice said, "Ow!"

Switching on the lights, Ren quickly moved to the back of the desk.

"Mogami-san?"

"Tsuruga-san? What are you doing here so late?" Kyoko asked, rubbing her head with one hand while she pushed herself out from under the desk with the other.

"I could ask you the same thing," Noticing she was still rubbing her head, he added, "Are you OK?"

Kyoko laughed a little sheepishly, "At least the desk didn't break against my hard head."

"Here, let me see," his right hand already moving her hand away to inspect the damage.

He rubbed gently at the decent-sized bump that had formed, "It's not too bad, but you might want to put some ice on it later."

Kyoko didn't hear him. She was still reeling from his proximity and the warmth of his hand near her face, that her brain could not process his quiet and soothing voice.

"Mogami-san?" Kyoko woke from her stun and looked up at the voice, only to be caught again by a pair of worried brown eyes.

"Hai!" Kyoko yelped softly, "I mean, HAI TSURUGA-SAN!" she corrected, as she quickly bowed her head in apology.

"I'm fine, Tsuruga-san. And I'm sorry that I worried you. I am always so much trouble. I don't deserve to have the great Tsuruga Ren-sama as my sempai," she articulated carefully, allowing her brain to catch back up to speed.

"No need to apologize," Ren said and he helped her up, "It was my fault too for startling you."

"Speaking of which, what are you doing in Yashiro's office?"

"Oh, I asked Yashiro-san if I could borrow his computer to do some research," Kyoko answered, "He said I could come in since no one was going to be around now anyway."

_Figures_, Ren knew he smelt a plot brewing when his scheming manager had ran away from the car so quickly.

"But I couldn't figure out how to turn on the darn thing, and was looking under the desk to make sure it was plugged in to power," she continued.

"Well, I'm afraid I'm pretty sure his computer doesn't work at the moment," Ren smiled at her apologetically.

"He was on the phone earlier this week, and only put on one glove in his hurry. He forgot that he wasn't wearing the other one and went to use the mouse to pull up some file on the computer. And so, the result is a dead computer."

Kyoko's face turned into a scowl, as her grudges started emanating from her, one of them unluckily picked to play the victim manager as the others surrounded it and a small voice cried, "No! Kyoko-chan I'm sorry!"

Ren grinned inwardly. He knew what Kyoko was probably thinking and he wasn't about to defend the very guilty manager of his. _He made the bed, he can sleep in it_, he thought.

"Well, I'm just here to pick up something he left behind since it was on my way home. We just got off from the last filming of Ring-doh 2. Since I'm here, do you need a ride?" he offered.

"Congratulations on completing the filming!" Kyoko said, remembering the time she first acted along-side him for the first Ring-doh movie.

It had been her first official LoveMe task, and she ended up in an act-off with one of LME's top singers and rising actresses, Matsunai Ruriko. She had gotten injured because of the then-drama queen, but the goal of crushing the spiteful 'princess' had helped her develop her acting spirit. She had gotten to act against Tsuruga-san and had learnt the difference between their acting skills. It was a pity that she ended up unable to complete the scene since the pain from her fractured ankle that didn't exist in her role still existed in her body and she had fainted once the scene was ended.

Kyoko went on to reminisce over how much has changed since then. Her acting rival slash goal was now her most admired and respected sempai, and she herself was a rising actress. She was still smiling as she remembered the Minus 10 stamp Tsuruga-san gave her at the end of that LoveMe task. But the smile slowly turned into a frown as she recalled the other time he gave her a Minus 10 stamp (that followed a 100 stamp even!) when she was acting as his temporary manger.

Instead of answering his offer, Kyoko, still in Memory Lane, asked abruptly, "Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"Uh… I was going to on the way home, Mogami-san," Ren answered slowly, a little shocked at the change of direction the conversation took.

"No, you weren't. You were probably going to go home and just eat something unhealthy from your under stocked refrigerator, like a wrapped onigiri, like you did when I was your temporary manager," Kyoko insisted. "If I hadn't gotten some groceries while getting you the stuff for your cold, you wouldn't have had anything healthy to eat in your apartment!"

Still curious how the topic came to his eating habits, but knowing he wouldn't be able to get away from it, Ren figured he might as well give in to it to his advantage, "Ok, Mogami-san, why don't I give you a ride a home, and we can stop by somewhere for a bite to eat."

As if on cue, Kyoko's stomach growled. Embarrassed at her rowdy organ, she nodded and said, "Food is always better with company anyway."

Ren smiled, grabbed the folder he needed and led her to the door.

_Yashiro should think up more of these plots where he gets in trouble and I just reap the rewards._


	4. Chapter 4

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 4 – Dinner for Two

Yashiro would never hear about it, but Ren was in cloud nine.

Being able to spend the better part, both in terms of amount of time and how much more he enjoyed it, of the evening with Kyoko did good for his heart. Mostly. Except when he had to resist the urge to add additional contact.

Like when they were walking down the empty LME corridors, their hands almost brushing against each other. Or when they were stopped at a red light in the car on the way to dinner, and she would gaze unaware at the night lights. Or now as they sat across each other in a mostly secluded booth in a family restaurant and he watched the way she slowly savored her food, their knees almost touching underneath the table.

He could never get bored of her, he thought smiling at her. They were able to talk about almost everything, and she had such an expressiveness about her that made everything interesting. While Yashiro would have complained about his contentment with 'small progress', he really wouldn't change it for anything. Just being around her, was enough for him.

They discussed his recent filming of Ring-doh 2, which he had included telling her about some of the pranks the staff had played on the others on the set, since the props for a horror film were always fun for scares.

They also discussed her progress with Natsu and Box-R. Kyoko had excitedly explained how much fun it was to play a school girl, even if she was the mastermind behind the many bullying cases in that school. They had to do an episode on a cultural festival at school, where Natsu and her gang had taken it unto themselves to single-handedly ruin it for their victim of the day. Natsu had plenty of fun during the preparations of the festival, but had gotten pretty bored during the festival itself, since she knew how everything was going to pan out, if everything went well. So, she set out to make sure everything DIDN'T go well.

"Wow, you girls can be pretty scary," Ren said, jokingly.

"I know! They really could have killed the girl if they let the fire grow too big," Kyoko agreed. "Though spraying her with the fire extinguisher when putting out the fire has got to actually be painful."

"Speaking of school, was it a school project that you needed to borrow Yashiro-san's computer for research for?" Ren said, sipping his hot coffee.

"No, I received a few new offers today, and wanted to look something up for one of them," she answered.

"Well here, use my phone then. It is almost as good as computer," Ren extracted his smartphone from his pocket and started touching the screen to bring up the browser for her to use an internet search engine before handing it to her.

"What do you need to look up?" Ren asked, bringing the coffee cup to his lips for another sip.

"The role was something about being a teacher in a boy's S and M fantasies. I don't know what S and M stand for," Kyoko said, her focus entirely on the device now in her palm, as she figured out the touch screen to type the letters she needed.

Her attention quickly reverted back to Ren as he fell into a fit of coughs to displace the coffee that went down the wrong way.

"Tsuruga-san! Are you OK?" She scooted closer to him and started clapping him on the back.

As his coughs subsided, he managed a weak, "Yes, I'm fine."

Suddenly realizing her closeness to her sempai, Kyoko shifted back to her side of the booth, hoping he didn't notice her rude behavior of invading his personal space.

Ren did notice, but did not think it rude. Rather, he was a little sad that she moved away from him so soon. Instead of dwelling on the matter, Ren returned to the previously interrupted conversation.

"Mogami-san, I don't think you want to search for that."

"Why?" she asked, confused, "Do you know what it is?"

Slowly, Ren answered, "Yes," as he tried to think of how best to explain it to her without offending her sensibilities.

"S stands for Sadist, and M is for Masochist," he started, in a lecture slash matter-of-fact type tone, pronouncing the English words.

"A Sadist would be a person who enjoys causing pain to others, while a Masochist enjoys receiving pain from others." Ren inwardly groaned, as he continued to maintain a composed expression.

"Oh OK. So, like Natsu would be a Sadist," Kyoko responded, happy to have made the connection.

"Should I be acting like Natsu and be bullying him then?" Kyoko asked. "And who in their right mind would actually want to be bullied anyway?"

"Uh… your Natsu could be considered a Sadist, yes," Ren answered again, slowly.

"But, it is more… uhm…" Ren struggled to find the word.

With Kyoko expectantly waiting for response, Ren sighed and continued, "Okay, people get… stimulated… by different things. Some like to include costumes and… " he broke off for a while before he continued.

"Toys. So, S and M play is usually quite… kinky," he finished, his face slightly flushed at having to explain such a thing to the innocent woman he loved.

Kyoko's eyes widened as she managed to put two and two together. Her face heated and she slunk down in her seat to try to hide her now-red face.

Ren cleared his throat, and then added, "So, if you are considering this role, you should try to get as much information about how far you would actually need to go during the acting."

"You would need to at least be able to feel comfortable in the role, or it will show in your performance," Ren was glad to use his acting-sempai role to diffuse what could have been a very awkward conversation.

"Also, an actor or actress's role can make or break a reputation," he continued, and to try to discourage her from taking this role, he added, "It's like trying to cast me in an S role," thinking she would consider his gentleman reputation getting ruined by such an act.

But Kyoko's imagination went in a different direction, and she pictured him in his full length, wearing tight black leather pants, naked from the waist up. In one hand, he carried a coiled black whip. And as her mind focused on his face, he wore the expression that caused her to shiver to the bone – the Emperor of the Night.

And as if imagining him with that expression again was not enough to distract her, her mind continued to look the Emperor over. His hair was roughly combed back, as if he'd just run his hand through it, with some of it falling messily over his forehead. His broad shoulders and chiseled chest. His toned stomach. His dark smirk as he uncoiled the whip.

The sound of the whip that he cracked in her imagination came at the same instant as she snapped out of her trance. And she found his face right in hers.

"GAAAHH!" she shrieked, plastering her back against the seat in a swift movement, and dislodging the hand that was on her head.

"Mogami-san, are you alright?" Ren asked, worried that the bump on her head was worse than he thought.

She nodded fervently in response, and Ren leaned back to his side of the booth.

"I'm sorry, Mogami-san, you didn't answer when I spoke to you and asked if your head was bothering you."

"H-hai, I'm sorry, Tsuruga-san," Kyoko stammered, "I must have zoned out."

"As long as you're okay, Mogami-san," Ren said.

Kyoko rewinded her thoughts, as if to erase the sudden images by returning to the former topic, and said, "Yes, I was just thinking that the offer mentioned that I wouldn't be doing too much with the S and M stuff."

"It would just be a short scene with me dressed in some kind of fitting costume for the fantasy, and walking purposefully to the camera," she continued.

"The rest of the time, the role is quite straight-forward. It's not a very big role."

"Do you think you're going to accept it then?" Ren asked, braver now that he knew that the part wouldn't cause him too much grief.

"I might," Kyoko answered, "I still have to consider a couple more offers, but if the timing fits, I probably will."

"It will be another way to show people how I can act. And it's not exactly a mean girl role. Maya can't help that the boy has fantasies about her," she said, defending the character she would play.

"More offers, huh?" Ren asked, smiling at her proudly. "How many more?"

"Five more," she said with a big grin, as they both got up to leave the restaurant, "It's the most I've ever gotten at one time."

"You're about to be more famous than me," Ren teased, effectively distracting her with conversation to prevent her from realizing that he had taken care of the bill, and walked with her to the car.

"Never!" Kyoko denied with absolute certainty, "I am your kouhai and it would be absolutely impossible to overtake you, my sempai."

"Don't be so sure now," Ren countered, opening the car door for her, "If you keep up at the rate you're going, you will definitely be a great actress very soon."

Blushing at the praise from her most esteemed sempai in acting, Kyoko was thankful to be able to duck into the darkness of the car.

"How many offers was the most you've received at once?" Kyoko asked, trying to divert the topic.

"Not including modeling offers?" he began to answer as he started the ignition.

"Eleven," Ren said with a boastful grin.

"Show off!" Kyoko accused him, laughingly.

As he drove towards the traditional Japanese restaurant that Kyoko lived in, they continued chatting amicably regarding his previous offers. She only recalled that she hadn't paid for dinner as they pulled in to park in front of the store.

Insisting that it was for his benefit that they went to eat, and reminding her how he would have ended up with a lousy dinner otherwise, he helped her retrieve her bicycle from the car trunk.

Frowning a little at the reminder, she began lecturing him on how important it was to eat well and rest well to take care of his body.

"You shouldn't stay up too late reading your scripts, and go to bed early." Kyoko finished, as he got back into the vehicle.

"You should go in now too, and have a good night's rest," Ren told her, a gentle smile on his face.

"Yes, I will. I just have to read a bit more of the story for _Rhapsody_ before tomorrow since I have chosen to accept it. Good night, Tsuruga-san. Thank you for taking me home," Kyoko smiled back, bowed politely, and went into the restaurant.

Ren's smile faded as she disappeared from view. Driving home, pensively, he surmised that someone else may have been doing some scheming besides his cheeky manager.

* * *

><p>AN: It may be a couple days before I get the next chapter up. But thank you for reading, and for the reviews.


	5. Chapter 5

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 5 – Challenges

Kyoko was seated in the chair in front of Sawara-san's desk, watching the man sift through the piles of paper on and around the surface.

After a few minutes of searching, reading, scribbling and turning to the computer for a couple clicks of the mouse or keyboard, the busy man turned to her and said, "Ok, I think I have all that down now."

"Frankly, I didn't expect you to accept the teacher role," he looked at her, one eyebrow raised in question.

"I considered it very carefully, and the timing to participate in the others would be tougher to juggle if I accepted them, especially since I'm accepting the role in Rhapsody," she answered easily.

"Yes, between Box-R and Rhapsody, it would have been difficult," Sawara-san agreed.

_Especially on me, since you girls don't have managers yet!_ he added silently.

"And I am okay with informing the Breeze producers to wait a little while more before giving them an answer, since they don't plan on starting immediately," he said, mentioning the make-up commercial that Fuwa Sho recommended her for.

"Yes, I still haven't decided on that one since it is still a long time from now," Kyoko responded with an eerily cheerful smile.

Behind the façade, she thought about the debate she had with herself yesterday regarding that offer. She'd brought out one of her handmade Sho dolls from her locker and sat down on the floor of the LoveMe locker room while she made her considerations.

The doll was easily recognizable as the number one pop singer of the country, though his pose was not one that would have been publicly displayed. The Sho doll was wearing the fairy slash devil outfit that was used in the Prisoner PV, exact from the dangling arrowhead shaped earrings to the chains adorning his shoulders and the boots he'd worn for the PV. And it was wearing an expression of fear that only she would have known, being his only childhood friend. She had really enjoyed making this one and recalling the times he would sometimes hide his face under the blanket those nights that they snuck in a horror movie to watch.

So, as her grudges were kept tightly leashed to think about why she would take this offer, whenever she had felt her control on them slipping, she'd dive into twisting the Sho doll's arms into painful positions, or ripping one or both of the earrings off (they were accessories that could be removed and put back on), or using the mallet she kept by the Sho dolls and pounding at it mercilessly. And her rein on the grudges would hold steady.

She had considered about how it was a princess role. And that the role did not include kissing the prince - which had brought about one of the Sho doll torture stints as she recalled her horrible Valentine Day experience, where Sho had forcefully kissed her in front of most of the Dark Moon cast, like an anteater siphoning food from her mouth.

By the time she'd exhausted all the considerations, and gone through three more torture sessions, she had acknowledged that the timing should be fine, since it would not be a long commitment; the script was decent; and that the only bad thing was the participation of a certain fake-blonde narcissistic idiot. And the last time they had to participate together was not all bad either. The acting experience from the PV, as well as the response garnered from it, had both been great leaps for her career.

With that, she picked the only conclusion possible in her mind – she decided to be undecided.

"Besides Moko-san, can you tell me who else is being casted in Rhapsody?" Kyoko asked her supervisor, eager to move on to another topic.

"Well, most of the LME actors and actresses have been given offers, of course," he responded, "And majority of the roles were deliberately picked to have at least one major challenge in it for each LME staff."

"Oh! I get it! You mean like how my major challenge would be studying harp playing to be able to properly act out the music scene," Kyoko tossed in.

"Yes, like that," the talent head said, raising an eyebrow again, this time in curiosity.

_Funny, how she would consider that part the biggest challenge_, he thought, _Makes one wonder if she already knows how to act as a young boy._

He didn't know how right he was. One of Kyoko's LoveMe tasks, assigned to her personally by the one and only President of LME, Takarada Lory, had put her under the care of Hizuri Kuu, who was originally a top Japan actor using the acting name, Hozu Shuuhei. She was actually supposed to take care of his enormous appetite during his short stay in Japan, but this great actor had ended up giving her an acting exercise where she had had to act as his son, Hizuri Kuon, to help her develop her imagination and ability to create a role. The episode was such an impact on them, that although Kuu had returned to America after Shuuhei's funeral (He had a funeral for his stage name, how cool was that!), they continue to have a father-son bond, and she still refers to him as her beloved Otou-san.

"Some have been on television, but have never actually done any actual acting. Others too, have to do something they don't have any or much experience doing previously."

"And I actually can't give names yet, since they haven't officially accepted the offers yet," the talent head finished.

"Oh okay," Kyoko responded, a little dejectedly.

"Well, if there's nothing else, Sawara-san, I think I should get going. I have to leave for TBM in a little while."

"Yes, that's fine, Mogami-san. Please don't forget to drop by after your Box-R slot tomorrow so we can go over the plans for the music lessons," her superior reminded her.

Kyoko said her thank you's and good bye's and headed to the LoveMe locker room down the hall.

Entering the room, she was surprised to see Amamiya Chiori, LoveMe's newest member, who had quickly become a friend to both LoveMe number one and two. Chiori originally hated Kyoko when the shooting of Box-R first started, where she played one of the mean girl sidekicks to Kyoko's Natsu. Her anger towards the newbie talent-o, who was able to get two main supporting roles so easily, one after another, had escalated to physical violence, when in a haze of fury, Chiori had pushed Kyoko down the stairs at the TBM studios.

Kyoko, who had inadvertently turned into Natsu when she was pushed, came up with a way to handle the situation – in her own way. Which led to the catalyst scene that made Chiori realize how far she had fallen from being a true actor. In hopes of redeeming the lost feeling towards her job and dream, she had volunteered to join the LoveMe group, to be near and analyze the newbie talent-o that had sparked something, she wasn't sure what yet, in her desolate life.

"Hi, Kyoko-san," Chiori greeted the new entrant of the LoveMe locker room.

"Good afternoon, Amamiya-san," Kyoko responded in kind, "Are you on your way to a LoveMe assignment?"

"Not at the moment. I am just considering an offer I got for an LME series called Rhapsody," she answered.

Kyoko plopped down on a seat next to her friend, and exclaimed excitedly, "You got an offer too!"

"Are you accepting it? What role were you given? Oh, I really hope you accept it!" she continued in the same breath.

Chuckling at her enthusiasm, Chiori told her, "I think so, but I'm still reading about my role."

Seeing the pair of large bright eyes looking at her expectantly to tell her more, she decided to indulge the person she never thought would have been a person she'd consider a friend, "I get to play one of the supporting school girl characters, Aizawa Sakura."

Kyoko recognized the name from her script, but let her continue, "She is friends with Yukino and Izumi, two of the main cast, and is the president of the Performance Arts club."

"It seems that besides being the president, she actually does the directing and stage handling for some of the shows the club puts on, and is the one who calls Shin, her college-going brother's friend, and alumni of their school, to participate in the club," she said, mentioning one of the male leads.

Chiori looked down at her hands for a while before she continued again, "I don't have a brother, or any older guy friends, so I'm wondering if I will be okay with playing Sakura."

"I know you can do it, Amamiya-san!" Kyoko encouraged, with utmost certainty, "Everyone was given a challenge, and Sachou-san would most definitely not let the casting for this special project be wrong."

"That's the other thing," Chiori countered back, "I feel like I'll be the only outsider, since I'm not really an LME actor, and everyone will know each other and be able work together easily."

"But Amamiya-san, you are part of the pink trio of Takarada Sachou-san's special group!" said Kyoko, "Of course, you would be considered as part of LME!"

"And LME is so big, I don't really know that many of the people either," she continued.

"We'll have quite a few scenes together, especially in the high school arc, so we can work at it together. I know you can do it! I believe in you," Kyoko finished her attempt to convince her to accept the offer.

She really wanted to be able to act with Chiori in a different setting than Box-R. Ever since the fateful episode that woke Chiori up, Kyoko had been watching her acting, and she concluded that Chiori really was quite talented. She wanted to learn more about her new friend, and hoped that this new series will help her do that.

To Love me number one's delight, Chiori said "I probably will accept it. Takarada-san said that acting with many different people will help me with my…" Chiori used the index and ring finger of both hands to make the inverted comma action, " … disease."

"Who will you be playing?" Chiori asked curiously, while trying to change the topic.

"Me? I'm –"

Kyoko was interrupted by the door slamming open, as an angry LoveMe number two entered the locker room.


	6. Chapter 6

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 6 – Main Characters Revealed

As she stormed into the closet like locker room, not expecting to find anyone within, Kanae's line of vision fell across not one, but two pink clad uniforms in the room.

From her position by the door, she looked directly at LoveMe number one and rose her right hand to point at her, exclaiming loudly, "YOU!"

* * *

><p><strong>A little earlier that afternoon<strong>

Ren waited outside the manager's area for his manager to return from dropping some things off at his desk, so they could head towards his second to last appointment for the day – both appointments were interviews to promote the now-completed Ring-doh sequel.

When Yashiro finally reappeared, Ren stood from his leaning position against the wall and wordlessly headed towards the car park.

"Ren, have you decided whether you'll be accepting the role of Shin in Rhapsody yet?" Yashiro asked, conversationally.

Before Ren could answer, a blur of movement came from around the corner and stopped right in front of them. Surprised, the two men recognized the blur that made them stop walking as Kyoko's friend from the LoveMe department, who did not consider greeting them at all, and instead said, "You will be playing Shin?"

Her ears had perked at Ren's name and the name of the drama she was considering accepting, despite being a distance away on her way to the LoveMe locker room from her brief meeting with Sawara-san, and her body automatically moved in front of them with inhuman speed, fed by her curiosity and actor's pride.

Cautiously, Ren answered, "I was offered the role, yes."

"Hmmm," Kanae pondered out loud, "So, I can pit my acting skills against Japan's number one actor if I accept mine."

"Are you playing Izumi, then, Kotonami-san?" Ren said politely, mentioning the name of the girl-turned-guy who played the confused Shin's love interest.

"What? No. I have Sora Yukino," she retorted, returning the name of Izumi's childhood friend, who would have quite a few interactions with Shin as well.

Yashiro glanced back and forth between the two actors, quickly contemplating this additional knowledge while debating whether or not to share his own information.

Luckily for him, Ren continued talking to Kanae before he could say something that could have gotten him in trouble with his charge, "That is interesting. Do you know what role Mogami-san has accepted for that drama?"

"Kyoko accepted a role for this drama?" Kanae said, slowly.

Instead of admitting that she did not know or that her so-called best friend didn't even tell her that she was given an offer for this series, much less what role she got and accepted, angrily she said, "Of course I know! But why should I tell you?"

The actor's plan to obtain some information about Kyoko's role faltered, Ren just calmly said, "You're right. I should ask her myself."

His manager, who had been quiet throughout the exchange, chimed in, "Actually, I heard from Sawara-san that Kyoko-chan has accepted the role of Izumi."

Both Kanae and Ren turned to Yashiro and threw him glares – one icy cold, and one dark and sinister with promises of retribution for hiding that information from him, reminding the bespectacled man why he had had to hide it in the first place.

"MO!" exclaimed Kanae, "So, she is going to be the other lead role!"

She turned back to the taller man, and raising a hand to point at him, "Now, you have to accept this role, so I can act against both of you – the number one actor in Japan AND my greatest acting rival, in the same drama! Two birds. One stone."

With that, she stormed away from the two men, and continued to her original destination angrily.

Ren watched her turn around the corner and out of sight. Instead of delivering on the earlier promises to his manager, Ren let out a sigh and a small smile. He recognized the challenge that LoveMe number two had just issued to him and knew that he was going to have to face it head on.

"Let's go, Yashiro-san," Ren said, as he started to walk again. "Or we're going to be late."

The shorter man wisely said nothing, but took a couple quick steps to try to catch up to the longer legged actor.

_At least she's not playing Yukino and won't have to act as Kijima's love interest in the show,_ he thought with relief.

To anyone else's unexpecting eyes, they would have seen the tall actor pause ever so slightly in his step, as if waiting for his slower companion to catch up. But to Yashiro, who was expecting to see some kind of reaction to the earlier revelations - he saw the brief lapse in movement the moment that Ren came to the single conclusion that he was waiting for.

_Wait, __**I **__am playing Kyoko's love interest!_

* * *

><p>"YOU!"<p>

"Me?" Kyoko squeaked, as she saw her best friend accusingly pointing at her, anger clear in her expression and dark clouds equipped with lightning bolts around her head.

"Yes, you!" Kanae exclaimed again, dropping her raised arm and walking two large steps to put her right in front of the cowering girl, who didn't know what she had done wrong.

"You are playing Ishiyama Izumi, the girl who has to hide her identity and becomes a man to be safe from the clasps of an old enemy!"

"Y- yes?" came the confused and scared response.

"And you didn't tell me, who you call your BEST FRIEND," Kanae sarcastically emphasized the last two words, "when I am going to play your closest and only childhood friend in the series!"

Kyoko's eyes widened and cleared from fear as she realized what her best friend just said, "Moko-san! You are playing Yukino? Oh, I am so excited! I get to act as best friends with my best friend in Rhapsody!"

Stunned from her angry rampage by the sudden barrage of excitement stemming from her target, Kanae quickly went into defensive mode to block against Kyoko's attempts to now draw the dark haired girl into a bear hug.

While effectively keeping herself from getting squished, Kanae roared, "MO! And of all people, you told that too-tall-too-handsome-for-his-own-good Japan's number one actor that you accepted the role before you told me!"

Kyoko stopped in her attempts to hug Kanae, "But I didn't tell him I accepted the role," she said, confused.

She quickly ran through her memories of the night before, of the dinner, and the ride home. And then it dawned on her.

"Oh," she said, lowering her hands that were still outstretched for a hug back to her sides, "I guess I did sort of mention that I was going to accept it."

"MO!" Kanae crossed her arms over her chest, a scowl still on her face, "Well, now that I've decided to play Yukino, with you as Izumi and your sempai as Shin, we just don't know who will be playing Kouta for the main cast to be fulfilled," she said, in a matter of fact manner.

Kyoko's eyes widened. "Tsuruga-san is in Rhapsody, too?" she asked, warily.

"Didn't I just say he was playing Shin?" Kanae responded with exasperation.

"But t-that means…" Kyoko started, but was interrupted by a muffled sound from the left-out LoveMe member. Both girls turned to look at Chiori, who was covering her mouth, her body shaking with laughter.

"The great Tsuruga Ren has to play a guy that falls for another guy that he doesn't know is actually a girl!" Chiori finally said, still laughing.

The two standing girls looked at each other, and then at Chiori, who was now guffawing loudly, and both burst out laughing.

Holding on to her stomach that hurt from the laughing, Chiori stood up and announced, "Even if I wasn't already going to accept the offer, I am definitely going to now, just to be there for that!"

"I'm going to see if Sawara-san is still here," she continued, bidding goodbye to the other two, and dashing out the door.

The remaining two were left struggling to control themselves, when finally Kanae said, "Looks like he's going to have a new image when he's done with this series."

"It's not really funny though, Moko-san!" Kyoko tried to convince herself, the seriousness of what she had just done, laughing at the plight of her dear sempai, dawning on her.

"And I'm the one who's going to have to play a guy that can make him fall for me! How am I supposed to act that out?"she continued, distressed now.

"Just act how you normally would, and you'll be fine," Kanae reassured her. "Follow the script, and don't go falling for his playboy tricks. He isn't called the CoStar Killer for nothing, you know."

Kyoko didn't look convinced, her face clearly showing distraught.

"If you can't even do that, then you aren't worthy of being my greatest rival OR my best friend," Kanae challenged.

It took a few seconds, but Kyoko's expression finally changed to one of determination to face the challenge.

"That's better," Kanae praised. She glanced at the clock in the room, and added, "Aren't you supposed to be heading to TBM soon?"

Noticing the time herself, Kyoko shouted, "Ah! Yes, I better get going, Moko-san!"

In fast forward speed, she quickly undressed and got into her normal clothes. Before leaving, she asked her friend quietly, "Can I call you tonight?"

Kanae sighed but smiled, "Yes, silly."

"Yay!" Kyoko gave her a light hug that Kanae wasn't able to avoid in time, and left the room.

Left alone, Kanae took a seat and thought to herself, _I guess things are going to be interesting from now on_.

* * *

><p>AN: Although I believe Yashiro's first name is really Yukihito, I really prefer calling him Yashiro. I will keep it as Yashiro for the narratives, but keep the dialogues accurate to how the characters would call him. Thank you for following my story. *bow*


	7. Chapter 7

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 7 – Girl talk

* * *

><p>AN: Short chapter, because work and school is taking it's toll. Hope to update again this weekend. Also, a quick shoutout to Shiroyuki76 and Jhiz for the support they have shown a newbie author and answering my newbie questions! Thanks for reading!

* * *

><p>It was late by the time she got home and got undressed for bed. Completing her ritual of throwing a dart at Sho's severely misused poster that hung on her wall and meagerly applying the night lotions that came with her makeup kit from Kanae, Kyoko plopped into bed with her phone in her hand and speed dialed '1'.<p>

Across town, Kanae was also in bed when she heard the first three notes of her phone's ring tone and quickly rushed to the vanity to silence it by answering, "What time do you think it is, huh?"

"Good evening, Moko-san!"

"Shhh! Not so loud!" Kanae said in a hushed whisper, "I'm at home now, and the kids are asleep. The walls are so thin here that they'll wake up if you're too loud!"

Kyoko quieted her tone and answered, "Okay."

"What are you doing at home tonight, Moko-san?" she asked curiously, knowing that Kanae didn't mean her one bedroom apartment downtown.

"I have to come back sometimes just to make sure they hadn't burned down the place while I was gone," came the grumbled response.

Kyoko giggled a little. She felt like they were having a real best-friend moment, with the whispering and complaining about personal things that only they understood.

Kanae came from a poor family, that was too large to sustain itself, what with her unemployed siblings and sibling-in-laws and their multitude of children. It seemed to her that she was the only responsible adult in that household, as she struggled to pay the bills by taking on odd acting jobs like pretending to be the girlfriend to get rid of a stalker, or to appease an old man by acting like his long lost daughter. But some of it was for her own vanity as well. The soon-to-be Japan's top actress was not going to be seen living in poverty like some commoner!

"Well, what did you want to talk to me about?" Kanae asked, in an impatient tone.

"Oh nothing really. I just wanted to be able to call you and see how your evening went."

"Haa-ah?" Kanae answered threateningly, her voice taking the shape of a fist as it left the answering piece of Kyoko's phone and rubbed its knuckles against the side of her head, causing Kyoko to grimace, "You didn't have something important to talk to me about?"

"But Moko-san, you were upset earlier that I didn't tell you about the offer, and so I wanted to make it up to you!" Kyoko pleaded.

Kanae let her explain how she didn't actually tell Tsuruga-san anything, and that he must have figured it out because he was part of the cast too, before she ended the topic by saying, "Yeah, well it doesn't matter anymore."

Not wanting to bring up the silliness of her earlier outburst, she steered the topic into another direction. She wasn't about to admit to Kyoko that she had been feeling just a little jealous when she'd found out that she told THAT GUY before herself.

"So, why did you accept this offer?" Kanae asked.

"Isn't it such a beautiful story?" Kanae could practically hear the sparkles that her friend was emitting through the phone.

"A young girl, having to hide her identity since she was 7, to stay safe from the Yakuza boss that wanted her because of her unique golden colored eyes."

"The same evil boss that tried to kidnap her and ended up causing the accident that left her an orphan."

"And how she was taken in by the cop that was on the case, who had lost his partner, who was also his wife, in the same accident."

"She and the cop's 7 year old daughter bonded by the common tragedy, becoming as close as sisters." Kyoko's voice took on a wisp of longing.

"But to hide her identity, the cop made her pretend to be a boy – a distant cousin that had come to live with the family," she continued sternly.

"And instead of begrudging her fate, she took to the new identity readily, with one goal in mind – to protect her 'sister', who was bound to be become target for the Yakuza boss that liked to collect unique and pretty 'things'."

When Kyoko did not continue, (probably lost in La-la land) Kanae finally said something, "You know you don't act in any of that part, right?"

"No matter how good you are acting, you can't look seven," she added, matter-of-factly.

"Also, it's not like being the target of the Yakuza is all lilacs and roses," she continued, "She had to live in fear and grief! How is that beautiful?"

"But Moko-san, she gets to protect her bestest friend in the whole world!" Kyoko argued.

"They get to spend every day and every night with each other. They get to do EVERYTHING together!" Kyoko finished, dreamily.

Kanae rolled her eyes at the workings of the silly mind that belonged to her so-called best friend. She knew how much Kyoko craved normal girl friendships to the point of putting the 'best friend' title so high on the pedestal. But since the one being put on that tall pedestal had also had a girlfriend-less childhood and was somewhat happy to be there, she smiled a little.

"Also, Sawara-san kind of hinted which role you were going to play," Kyoko's voice continued on the line, sounding a little sheepish.

"Mo! Enough already!" Kanae was grateful that the tiny hint of pride that rose in her cheeks because of the obvious adoration from her first friend, would not be seen through the phone.

"Have you already figured out Izumi's character for when you actually have to act as 'him'?" Kanae changed the topic once more.

"I've done some acting as a boy before, Moko-san," Kyoko answered, "Remember when Otou-san was here? I told you I had to act as his son, right?"

"Yeah, but didn't you end up acting more like a 10 year old boy instead of 15?" Kanae countered, "Izumi is 16 turning 17 in the story line."

Only silence came from the other end.

"MO! Don't tell me you didn't think about that at all?" Kanae scolded, struggling to keep her voice down. She put her unoccupied hand against her head and began rubbing her temples.

"What am I going to do, Moko-san?" came the expected zombie-voice.

Kanae sighed a deep a breath, "We still have some time, okay? Many others have not yet accepted their offers, and I'm sure they'd have to spend some time to find replacements for the people that declined."

"We can think about it before the first meeting," she said, reassuring the distressed girl on the other end of the phone.

"Thanks, Moko-san," Kyoko said, feeling a little calmer.

"Okay, it's late. Do you already know where you're going for the music lessons?" Kanae asked one final question.

"Not yet," Kyoko replied, "Sawara-san wants me to drop by after my Box-R filming so I can go over the available locations and slots for both the music lessons and the martial arts training I need."

"Ok, good. I'll meet you there, so we can pick the same place for lessons," Kanae said.

Ecstatic at the thought of taking music lessons with her best friend, Kyoko cheered loudly into the phone.

"SHHHH! MO! Don't be so loud!" Kanae hushed her again, angrily.

"Sorry, Moko-san," a quiet Kyoko voice replied.

"Ok, now go to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hai. Good night, Moko-san."

Kyoko hung up her phone with a smile, and quickly fell asleep, the device still in her palm.

* * *

><p>AN2: Also! Promotion Time!

Drunken Ren Challenge:

1. It has to be Ren or Kuon, not Cain, BJ, Katsuki, or anyone of his other  
>characters.<br>2. Someone has to be embarrassed by something Ren has done. It could be  
>himself or someone else.<br>3. You have to state the consequences of his drunken stupor in the story. No  
>getting him drunk, kissing Kyoko and not stating what happened after.<br>4. Try and keep it IC. Considering we have only seen Ren in an angry drinking  
>binge, so allowances are to be expected.<p>

Ganbatte! -Mimi


	8. Chapter 8

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 8 – Intros and Allys

A/N: I've been asked a few times what the time line for my story is. So I figured I'd get this out there.

I decided it should be about a little after Natsu was created, but long enough for Dark Moon to be finished. There will not be any Dangerous Assignment or Kain/Setsu storyline – they do not exist in my timeline for this story. Sorry no BJ scene for Ren. I have to draw out Kuon some other way. Shiroyuki76 reminded me that filming and airing were two different things, so Box-R is only now starting to air it's episodes, even though they've been filming for a bit. I hope that makes a bit of sense, and do not feel too OOC. Thank you all for reading my story so far.

I am introducing a character in this chapter, not exactly an OC. I hope you guys will find him as intriguing as I did. I have plans for him, but he is so intriguing to me that I'm not 100% sure on which plan I'll end up with ^_^

* * *

><p>Sanada Iori parked his Nissan Sentra in the driveway of his two-storey house. Grabbing the pack of smokes from his jacket's right pocket, he popped one of the skinny sticks out, placed it in between his lips, and with the efficiency of someone who has been smoking for over a decade, lit it while climbing out of the vehicle.<p>

_I did it_, he thought to himself, solemnly.

_I am actually going to try my hand in acting_.

Iori had joined the entertainment industry 9 years ago starting as one of the errand boys in the back of the studio. Through hard work and determination, he'd finally made it up the ranks and was now the producer for TBM's popular variety show Kimagure Rock.

_Featuring Bridge Rock and…_ he paused in his reminisces as he spit the cigarette onto the cement driveway and ground it with the heel of his foot, and mentally grimaced as he continued …_ 'the Chicken'_.

He lit his second stick and gazed at the clear night sky as he continued to think about 'the Chicken'.

He didn't want to admit it, but the girl was more of an actress than he first thought her to be. They'd gotten off on the wrong foot, because she had, for her own bizarre reasons, altered the show props and attacked the special guest of the show. Already feeling the stress of it being the opening night, her antics had made him see red and he fired her on the spot. Had he remembered, he would have given her several of those Minus 10 stamps.

It was a good thing he hadn't though. When the reviews for that night's showing returned, Bo the Chicken had such raving reviews that he had had to hire her back.

He inhaled a deep breath of the smoke, and slowly blew it back out.

Despite the bad start they'd had, she had continued to work hard and do her best for the episodes since then, that he really couldn't find anything to complain about. Despite the constant frown of a face he equipped whenever he briefly had to interact with her, he could actually feel a twinge of pride in watching her growth. From being 'the Chicken', to the horrifically scary Mio, and then to the sexy and sadistic Natsu in the new series that started showing during prime time TV which his wife made him watch with her.

He'd hardly been able to recognize her at first, if it weren't for the fact that he'd heard these things about the pink person behind the chicken outfit. Mostly from the three boys in his show that seemed to find a lot to say about her. Usually centered around teasing the shortest yet oldest of them about her.

_Ah… Youth_, Iori reflected.

Well, he now had a chance to be youthful and adventurous again, which was what prompted him to take up the very rare and peculiar offer to act in the LME series, Rhapsody. His wife of 18 years, ever the supportive companion, was more nervous and excited than him about it, and only requested that he got a couple autographs for her.

He wasn't sure it was a good idea really. It was not like acting had ever been a dream of his. He was content with his job and he knew he was good at it. But he had the time, and President Takarada and Director Takamura must have chosen him for a reason. So, he'll bite and take it as an adventure.

It would make a great story to tell if he ever had grandchildren.

Erasing the negative remnants of that thought, he snuffed out the new cigarette and unlocked the front door.

"I'm home."

* * *

><p>He did not know how he got roped into this situation.<p>

He was seated at one of the tables in the back of the Darumaya, while Kyoko was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Directly in front of him, was the lovely – _and devious_, he mentally added, Kotonami-san, who was presently tapping her finger impatiently on the surface.

_*Flashback to yesterday evening at LME*_

He'd run into the two ladies clad in matching pink outfits in one of the LME corridors, who had apparently just gotten out of a meeting with their supervisor, Sawara-san. A quick glance at Yashiro made him reject the thought that this was another ploy of his conniving manager, since his manager looked genuinely surprised at the coincidental encounter.

Ever since filming for Dark Moon ended, he'd have felt lucky to see her once a week. So yes, bumping into her twice in one week was enough to raise Ren's suspicions that Yashiro may have been up to something again. Especially when the first one was exactly one of his schemes. Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, he calmly greeted them.

"Good evening, Mogami-san, Kotonami-san."

"Good evening, Tsuruga-san," Kyoko politely bowed and greeted him, while Kanae gave him a short nod.

"Good evening, Kyoko-chan!" the shorter man said enthusiastically, "And how are you, Kotonami-san?"

"Fine, thanks," was her gruff response.

"Well, I am going to go grab something from my office real quick. Ren, why don't you have a chat with the ladies until I get back?" Yashiro quickly excused himself, before glancing at Kanae with a conspiratory sparkle in his eye, willing her to do the same.

Kanae looked at him as if he was crazy, and instead of trying to leave, she turned to Ren and said, "You are just the person we needed to see."

Yashiro slinked away in disappointment, now regretting his excuse because he so wanted to stay and hear why the pink duo needed to see his charge.

Mentally smirking at his poor manager's folly, Ren replied, "Oh, and why is that?"

Kyoko turned to look at her best friend with a distraught look, trying to stop her from saying anything. But Kanae just looked back at her and said, "What?"

"Look, you can't ride your bicycle to the Forever Music Studio. It is too far, and too tiring," she scolded her brainless companion.

Turning back to the tall actor, she asked, "Are you free tomorrow morning? Around 9?"

Getting the idea of what he was being asked to do, he mentally rescheduled his morning plans and answered, "Yes."

"Good. Bring your car to the Darumaya for 9 then," she said.

Kyoko looked at Ren, her expression grateful and apologetic at the same time. Smiling back at her, Ren said agreeably, "Sure. I'll see you then."

"Hai! Thank you, Tsuruga-san," Kyoko bowed once more before picking her step to catch up to her friend who had just said a hasty "Yeah, bye" and continued walking.

Ren was left standing there, contemplating the new ally he seemed to have made.

_*End of flashback*_

Okay, so he did know how he got into this situation.

But he should have known better.

"Why do we have to wait for him to eat?" the wily woman grumbled.

"Well, you're eating too since both of you only had coffee for breakfast!" Kyoko answered while scooping a few spoons of the fish congee she had made earlier this morning for her own breakfast into two ceramic bowls.

"Really! The both of you are supposed to be professionals and don't even have proper breakfasts in the mornings!" she scolded as she placed the bowls on the serving tray and added a pair of soup spoons from a drawer to it.

"Besides, we still have plenty of time now that we don't have to take the bus. Tsuruga-san is so generous for giving us a ride to our lessons even though he is such a busy person," she said.

Serving the bowls to her guests, she looked at her sempai gratefully and added, "Since we are imposing on you, the least we can do is make sure you didn't have to skip breakfast because of us."

"It really is my pleasure, Mogami-san," Ren replied honestly. Although rescheduling the couple items he'd had lined up this morning meant he was going to be extra busy the next couple of days, he was still just glad to be around her. How Yashiro would have scorned his little victories.

Kanae sighed, looking at the bowl in front of her. _At least, it won't hurt my diet_, she thought, as she took a taste of the healthy breakfast.

"This is really good, Mogami-san," Ren complimented, after having a spoonful. "I always enjoy yo-"

"Yes, this is really delicious, Kyoko," Kanae interrupted to offer her own praise, leaving Ren's chopped commendation to fall unceremoniously into the abyss.

Kyoko smiled brightly at her friend, ecstatic since she used her first name, oblivious to the masterful exploit her friend had pulled.

Ren looked at the dark haired girl with slightly narrowed eyes. He now knew just how wrong he had been in thinking he'd gained an ally.

Kanae returned a small smug smile at Kyoko, ignoring the handsome actor that she often felt resentful of.

Oh she knew how he felt about her. Any idiot, _Okay ALMOST any idiot_, Kanae corrected herself, remembering who she was thinking about, would have known that from the ridiculously large crystal he gave her on her birthday while weaving some crazy made-up story so that she would accept it.

Remembering how she had upped him on that one with the princess make-up set kept her smile in place as she finished the rest of the meal in silence.

* * *

><p>AN: I've always loved Kanae's 'hate-to-lose' attitude. Sorry for short chapters, and thanks everyone for the reviews - past, present and future *wink* - Mimi


	9. Chapter 9

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 9 – The Ride and the Appointment

* * *

><p>Food eaten, dishes cleaned and thank you's and goodbye's given to the restaurant proprietors, the party got into the car.<p>

To Ren's surprise, Kyoko had ended up riding shotgun since Kanae had insisted that Ren was HER sempai, not hers. To which, Kyoko grumbled quietly that he was Kanae's sempai too but slid into the front passenger seat anyway.

The arrow teetering between friend and foe in his mind turned and steadied in the friend zone.

"So, you're both taking lessons in the Forever Music Studio?" Ren asked, as he pulled out into the road and began making his way to the location of the music studio that he'd looked up the night before.

"Yep!" Kyoko answered excitedly, "Since Izumi plays the harp and Yukino uses the violin, and neither of us have much experience with those instruments."

"We have scenes of both performing and practicing with those instruments, as you probably already know," Kanae added in her normal sarcastic tone.

"There's actually a full song that Izumi ends up playing on her own while in her own thoughts, and the flash back clips are supposed to be inserted to display intermittently with her harp playing," Kyoko described one of her scenes.

"Sawara-san said that I would be playing the entire song, mistakes and all, just so they would get enough footage to play around with during editing," she continued. She was actually quite nervous about that scene, and how she'd be able to play convincingly through an entire piece, without hinting that she was a beginner with the instrument. She clenched her fist as she decided that she was determined to practice as much as it took.

"I'm mostly taking the lessons because LME is paying for it," Kanae said truthfully, with a shrug of her shoulders, "May as well take advantage of the opportunity to learn a new skill while I have the time."

"The studio appears to be quite a popular one, and rather expensive. The reason we chose it though, despite the distance, was the only one that had both harp and violin instructors and had available classes as close as today, instead of a month and a half away," she continued.

Kyoko suddenly shifted from under her seatbelt and got up on her seat to turn around and face her best friend, her right hand innocently placed on the shoulder of the driver's seat for balance.

The unexpected closeness of her hand to his shoulder had Ren gripping a little tighter to the steering wheel, fighting the urge to shift in his seat so that his shoulder could make contact. Knowing that the simplest touch might make her run away, he simply basked in the knowledge that her hand was right there and wisely continued to keep his eye on the road.

Before Kyoko could say what she got into that position to say in the first place, the girl in the backseat yelled, "MO! What do you think you're doing? Sit back down properly before something happens!"

Kyoko hurriedly reversed her previous movement and faced forward again, her back ramrod straight in the seat.

"Sorry, Moko-san," she said contritely, "I just wanted to tell you how happy I am that I will be able to spend so much time with you."

Kanae folded her hands across her chest and frowned into the back of Kyoko's seat. _This girl!_ she thought angrily, _She probably didn't even think about what could happen if the car jerked in the wrong direction_.

Moving her line of vision to glare into the back of Ren's seat now, she continued thinking, _And this man! Not telling her immediately to sit back down when it could have been dangerous!_

"Mo! Whatever!" she replied, not appeased.

Unknown to her, Ren was thoughtfully weighing the meanings of her previous words. _Did she know what I was thinking? What did she mean 'before something happens'? What did she expect to happen? Does she think I'm a pervert that can't keep my hands (or shoulder, _he corrected_) to myself?_

And the clueless girl in the passenger seat remained quiet, gloomily thinking about how her best friend was angry at her, but not realizing any of the other tension in the car.

Trying to deflect the situation, Ren cleared his throat and changed the topic, "So, I'm curious. Since I am giving you a ride there, how are you girls getting back?"

Ren jerked slightly in surprise as it felt like the passenger seat seemed to be surrounded by a darkening aura, its owner sinking deeper into the self-created pit of gloom.

"We were planning to take the bus to go somewhere else after the appointments," Kyoko answered quietly after a few seconds of awkward silence, "But now that Moko-san hates me, I guess we can just take the bus home separately..."

She rambled on, "… since we don't live in the same direction and don't take the same busses home. And she will meet some other girl on the bus and she becomes her new best friend and she doesn't want anything more to do with me, and I'm so sorry and…"

"MO! " Kanae interrupted her friend's usual self-depreciating tirade, "We're still going shopping after the appointment, okay?"

Realizing that the tall man in the driver's seat was listening, she added, "We'll talk about it later, over ice cream or whatever."

Instantly cheered up, Kyoko started to get up to turn around to face Kanae again.

"SIT!" Kanae scolded, before she could complete the movement. Kyoko froze and returned to a proper sitting position.

"Yes, Moko-san," she said obediently.

Ren couldn't help smiling at the interaction between the two, beginning to realize the kind of relationship the two friends had.

He pulled in front of a large building and the car rolled to a stop.

"Well, we're here," Ren announced. The two girls unbuckled their seats, one gratefully offering her thanks to her most generous sempai for the ride, while the other followed suit with short "Yea, thanks," before leaving the vehicle.

He watched their backs for a few more moments, not missing the sudden hug attack LoveMe number one launched onto number two, and the happy face of the girl he loved disappearing within the tinted glass doors.

Without a doubt, Ren knew that this series would be an exciting and fun adventure for her. Not to mention a major challenge in her acting abilities. He was looking forward to see her act as Izumi in a male role, not at all convinced that it will make him be able to see her as anything less than the woman she was in his eyes.

He looked at the time displayed on the dashboard. He better head back to LME. The President would have too many questions if he showed up late to his appointment.

* * *

><p>The phone rang once and was answered most promptly. The voice on the other end asked, "What is the theme today?"<p>

The tips of his mouth turned into a very rare smile, as he recognized the voice. "World War II warzone. He's the US battalion's commanding officer," he responded.

"Excellent. I will see you later, Sebastian." The call ended.

The trusted right hand man of LME's president looked at his watch, and smiled again. It was a good thing no one was around, because they would have been extremely curious about the call that made the normally reserved man smile twice in a spam of less than one minute.

* * *

><p>The two LoveMe ladies were seated next to each other in the otherwise empty meeting room where they were to meet their instructors for the duration of their lessons. They were early, but did not have to wait long before the door to the room opened and through them a man and a woman walked in.<p>

The young couple looked an oddly matched pair as they stood next to each other. The man was dressed in torn-up jeans with a brown sleeveless jacket swung on unbuttoned over a simple white T-shirt. He wore no jewelry except for the one earring in his left ear lobe. His black hair had silver streaks in them but was spiked up fashionably, and his long boyish face was clean-shaven.

The woman wore gold and silver bangles on both wrists, which were accompanied by long gold and silver strings that streamed from her earlobe to her shoulders. Her hair was dark brown with blonde streaks through them were tied up in a tall ponytail. She wore a similar white T-shirt and a pretty silver belt went around her waist through the belt hoops of the three quarter length jeans. On her feet, she wore a pair of three inch high-heeled, opened toed silver strapped sandals that wrapped up to her shin in a lovely pattern.

Kyoko and Kanae both got up to greet the two, bowing politely. It was the man that first came up to them and extending a hand to the dark haired girl, in a deep baritone voice said, "Hello ladies, welcome to Forever Music Studio."

Kanae took his hand and shook it firmly. Suddenly, her hand was raised and turned to his face, as if he was going to kiss it. She quickly jerked her hand back, furiously and was about to go off on him when he called over his shoulder to his partner, "Saria, this one will be good for you. Good arm and wrist strength. Her nails are a bit long, but that can be fixed."

Kanae just stood there quietly, confused and skeptical. The lady named Saria smiled and nodded back at her partner. He then turned to the short chestnut haired girl and said, "Kyoko-san right?"

Still unsure what to expect from this man, she nodded meekly.

"I apologize for possibly wierding you both out, but that was a really quick test for violin players that we made up ourselves for us to gauge certain attributes of new players. It only works for people who don't already know us, so I just had to use it," he winked at Kyoko.

"Now, for you…"

Kanae raised an eyebrow when he held his hands out again, but this time both of them were palm up. "May I see your hands, please?"

Hesitantly, Kyoko placed both her hands on his. He inspected them closely in the position they were, before letting her right hand go and bringing the left hand fingers closer for examination.

"You've played a string instrument before?" he asked curiously, while still holding her hand.

"Y-yes," Kyoko answered, "Guitar. Just a little."

"Hmmm… The marks on your finger tips say it's been a while, but you definitely used to play a lot," he replied. Then, just as suddenly, he lowered the hand and let go of it completely, letting it fall unceremoniously back to Kyoko's side.

"Well, either way. Do you know how to read sheet music?" he moved on to the next question.

"Yes, err.. sensei?" she answered again, unsure what to call the man.

The man in question slapped his hand against his forehead and cried, "I forgot to introduce myself! I knew I forgot something!"

Waving at Saria to step forward, which she happily obliged, he began introductions, bowing extravagantly, "My name is Kitami Takishima."

"And this lovely lady here is my best friend since we were in diapers, Hidaka Saria." Saria curtsied prettily.

"We've both studied and played music for over a decade now. Saria will be Kanae-san's violin instructor, which leaves me…" he trailed off, looks at Kyoko mischievously, "… with you."

Noticing Kyoko's nervous reaction to the blatant flirting from the older man, Saria interjected with a couple of her own comments, "Don't worry, Kyoko-san… Oh, I hope you both don't mind us going by the first name basis so soon. We prefer to keep things casual and less formal because our focus is in the music, and the music doesn't complain about things like that."

"That and four years of the Julliard School and seven years in the States says goodbye to all that formality and hello to being considered rude in your home country," Takishima rolled his eyes at the sentiment.

"Yes, that too," Saria agreed, "But as I was saying, Kyoko-san, please don't worry about Taki's deliberate attempts at flirting. He is quite harmless, I assure you, though he thinks he is quite the catch."

"However, I can vouch for his good behavior since he hasn't had a girlfriend in over 5 years, and I'm starting to wonder if he's gay," she teased.

"Maybe I'm just waiting for the right one to come along. Besides, it's because I've had enough exposure to one certain female that has made me universally afraid of women in general." he retorted, and got a knowing smile in return.

"Well then, enough of introductions, back to business," Takishima changed the topic.

"Let's head on over to our studio room, shall we?" he gestured towards the door.

The two rising actresses obediently followed their hosts and soon-to-be instructors out the room and through the corridors until they reached two rooms, across from each other that had Saria and Takishima's names printed on the placard on the doors.

Instead of opening her own door, Saria let herself into her partner's room, quickly followed by the rest of the gang.

Kyoko's eyes widened as she took in the unexpected size of the room and its contents. The main room was a wide open space with the equipment they'd need for the lessons – music stands, stools, and two full sized Celtic harps positioned next to each other. Several chairs lined the wall for guests and a small table by the music stands held a metronome. In the back of the room was a see through glass wall that held the instructor's office, equipped with mahogany desk and office chair and framed up certificates against the furthest wall.

"Welcome to my humble abode!" Takishima announced, grandly.

"First of all, lessons will not start today," he started, "We will begin with a couple of the basics. I know that the both of you are taking these lessons for filming of the new LME series, Rhapsody, and while it is easy to just pretend to play, the real convincingness will come from actually knowing how to play."

"With that, Saria and I have prepared a demonstration."

* * *

><p>AN: My longest chapter in terms of word count, but I really didn't get very far with the story, did I? Sorry about that, I'm a little long winded and I think my chaptering needs work. I have the next chapter in the making, but need to get some homework out of the way first. Thanks all for reading and reviewing as usual.


	10. Chapter 10

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 10 – Demo and the Meeting

* * *

><p>Saria returned after a quick trip to her room for her violin case. Then, setting the case on the table, she opened it and retrieved her beloved instrument from it. The violin gleamed in the studio light, the brown of the wood matching the tone of her hair with its blonde streaks. And on the back, a small silver S was embedded in the wood.<p>

Holding on to the bow and violin with one hand, she effortlessly closed the case and set it in the corner with the other.

Takishima sat on the stool and leaned the harp to him, adjusting the large instrument to rest lightly on his shoulder.

When she saw Takishima's nod that he was ready, Saria asked the two guests for today's performance, "Do either of you play any video games?"

Both girls shook their head in denial.

"No? Well, then you girls probably won't know these songs, but no matter," she grinned, "Focus on our expressions, our positions, and the way the music makes you feel. We will go into detail on the techniques during the lessons."

Taking his cue from Saria's nod in his direction, Takishima strummed the harp into the first slow chord of the Ocarina of Time introduction song. His strumming was soon joined in by Saria with her violin, weaving the wistful melody with the bow in harmony with his harp.

Kyoko had no sooner begun to feel her heart swell at the melancholy tune that the music turned switched into the upbeat Zelda theme song. Kanae stared in awe at the speed, energy and expertise that Saria wielded the bow with.

The music changed again into Zelda's lullaby, with Takishima rolling a few glissandos down the harp – Kyoko knew that she just HAD to learn how to do that!

Mid-playing that slightly slower paced song, Saria flashed a great smile and said, "This is my favorite part. It's called Saria's Song, after all." And the music altered again into an even faster tempo than before, her bow arm flying, and Takishima's fingers plucking the harp strings masterfully.

They continued playing the Legend of Zelda medley through the chipper tune of the Goron theme, into the music-box-like Song of the Storms, the mystical Great Fairy theme and finally the sweet Epona's song.

They held the last note longer, and both stopped at the exact same beat.

Their two guests gave them a standing ovation, faces alight with amazement and delight, loudly clapping at the amazing performance they had just witnessed.

With much exaggeration, Takishima stood up, and held Saria's available hand, and they bowed together.

"That was AMAZING!" Kyoko gushed, her eyes bright with excitement.

"Thank you, thank you, we do aim to please," Takishima reveled in the praise. Saria laughed merrily and calmly set her violin away.

Kanae stared longingly at the violin being returned to the case. She couldn't wait to get started. And was about to ask when they could start, but Kyoko beat her to it.

"Wow wow wow! When can we start?"

* * *

><p>Ren stepped into the eccentric LME President's private rooms, the setting barely affecting him. He was used to the weird set-ups his President seemed to enjoy, and today's was no weirder than normal.<p>

Gunny sacks were piled on top of each other, forming barricades that he had to weave through like a maze, amongst other obstacles like the barb wire fences. Being careful not to get caught in one of those and risk ruining his clothes, he walked towards what used to be the center of the room and looked around for the room's owner.

He heard the sound of a whoopee cushion and a soft "Darn it!" from behind the dusty horizon-landscaped plaster wall, that had been wheeled in to complete the effect.

"Well, if that was a real mine, I guess I'd have to go with a pirate theme next and find me a peg leg," Takarada Lory stood from his sneaking position and walked forward to greet his guest, "Hello, Ren. Punctual as usual."

"Hello, Sacchou," Ren greeted the man dressed in full-on military uniform, equipped with medals, and completed with military-stock boots.

"You wanted to see me, uh, sir?"

"Yes, yes, please come into my tent," Lory gestured to the large tent canopy that had been erected over several wooden chairs and a wooden table.

Taking the seat across from his superior, Ren waited patiently for Lory to say something.

"So… Rhapsody…" the President started, "The story where you will be playing a rebellious teen, with a painful past, that gets forced into participating in a high school's Performing Arts Club activities."

Since Ren remained silent, Lory continued his narration, "Haunted by the resemblance of the beautiful Yukino to your deceased younger sister, you gain an immediate distrust to the boy that is always around her, and the protective urge to see to her safety at all times."

"A delinquent, you learnt to fight in the streets, picking fights with anyone looking for trouble, especially those that looked like part of the Yakuza, searching for a lead to the man that caused your sister's death."

Lory noticed the tightening of Ren's lips, as the character's description hit close to home.

"Aside from not really having a sister, I have to say this role should be easy for you, considering the…"

He was interrupted by a single word, that sounded very close to a threat, "Sacchou."

Lory sighed. "You know, it's been few years now, and with your recent prowess as Katsuki, you'd think you'd be more accepting of yourself by now."

Ren looked at him, no expression visible on his face. So, Lory continued, "The character asks for Shin to look like a delinquent."

"You also need to look just a tad younger, and the delinquent look would certainly give a more youthful image."

Ren narrowed his eyes, beginning to understand what he's going to be asked to do.

"So… do you want streaks or do you want to go full blonde?" came the loaded question.

"Sacchou, I really don't think that…" Ren started, but interrupted by a loud bang from the direction of the main entrance.

A lady, about in her 30's, walked in like she owned the place. Ren stared with widened eyes, recognizing the lady. Not by her outfit, which she was wearing a long white coat that reached the back of her knees, over what looked like bandages wrapped around her chest and white leather pants and white platform boots. Her reddish-brown hair cropped short, she looked like a female delinquent leader, except for one thing – she wore a white headband with a red, black and white Swastika symbol on her forehead.

Much to Lory's dismay, she walked towards them, kicking through the weak barricades and ruining his self-made puzzle slash maze.

"Lory!" she bellowed on her way across the room, a big smile on her face.

"Usagi-chan!" Lory replied, with a smile that looked just a tad fake because of his unhappiness at having his masterpiece destroyed, but that quickly became real when she got closer and hugged him.

"You're early," he said to the lovely lady in his arms.

"Yes, I am! I couldn't wait to show you the outfit I made just for today's theme, so I figured I'd just drop on by!" she replied, still grinning infectiously.

"As usual, you try to be the exact opposite of what I have set-up so you can stand out more than me. And as usual, you missed by a few points," Lory gestured to the white delinquent's outfit, "But you look fabulous!"

"Thank you, dear," she said, finally releasing herself from his arms. Her eyes fell on the man seated in the chair behind her oldest and dearest friend. After a few blinks, she appeared to recognize him and reached towards him for a hug as well as she called out, "Kuon!"

Ren froze in his movement to greet the lady he'd first met when he was a lot younger, expecting that she would only have recognized him as the famous number one actor of Japan, Tsuruga Ren. Being called his other name, especially after the shortened conversation with Lory, had him finishing his rise and glaring knives at the President.

But the expression of surprise on his boss's face was genuine shock, tinted with a small dose of worry. Ren toned down his glare, but kept his face expressionless as he bowed to the lady who had stopped to observe the exchanged looks between the two men.

"How are you, Kuon? My, how you've grown up! And you look different! And what did you do to your hair?" Usagi said, continuously.

_From one land mine into another_, Lory thought ironically, running through damage control protocol in his mind.

"I am well, Aunt Bunny," Ren replied with a very small smile.

"Well! I seemed to have interrupted your meeting," she said, apologetically.

"Actually, Usagi-chan, we were just discussing your series," Lory responded.

"Rhapsody? I didn't realize Kuon was part of the cast. I certainly didn't see his name on the finalized staff list."

"About that…" Lory started, "His identity as Kuon is actually meant to be a secret."

"He is only known here as the number one actor and number one most eligible bachelor of Japan, Tsuruga Ren," he introduced with great grandeur.

Recognizing that name, Usagi's eyes widened, displaying a lighter sheen of her dark gray eyes, "You will be playing Shin."

She paused in thought for a second as she absorbed that fact, and her face broadened slowly into another large smile. "Perfect!" she exclaimed.

"Shin would look absolutely delicious with your blonde hair tied up in a short pony tail! I can just see it now! It is just perfect!" she repeated again.

Ren looked like he was about to argue, but she raised a finger to still him and said, "I can understand why you may be hesitant with that look, since you're trying to keep that identity hidden, and I'm sure you have your reasons."

"But people only know what you look like as Tsuruga Ren now, and they will not see you as some foreigner that they've never met before."

"You would just be Tsuruga Ren, but with blonde hair! And nineteen!" Usagi clasped her hands together excitedly, "I couldn't have asked for a better casting for the role!"

To Ren's surprise, Lory came to his rescue and added, "But you were able to see through his disguise even in his current look. What makes you so sure his identity will stay hidden if he returns to his natural hair color?"

Usagi looked at Lory, disbelief written on her face. "Do you honestly think anyone else has the kind of instinct and eyesight I do?"

Lory smiled, "No, but I had to ask, because Ren didn't look appeased by your first answer."

He still was not appeased, and he was about to say something again, but was interrupted yet again by the powerful lady figure in front of him, "There is nothing to be worried about. Even by my standards, it was difficult for me to place him, since I hadn't seen him for what, 8 years?"

Ren sighed out loud. "Okay, I give up."

"Give up?" Usagi repeated, "There was nothing to give up, 'Ren-san'. You didn't have a choice unless you wanted to get fired from the show before it even started," she said with emphasis on his stage name.

Ren's mouth opened slightly at the realization of what she just said.

"I imagine you must have 'some' skills if you can brag about being Japan's number one actor," Usagi continued, "I had better see that in my Shin, or there'll be hell to pay, you got that?"

"I don't know you, Tsuruga 'Ren-san', and I've certainly never worked with you before. And even if I did, I play no favorites when it comes to my shows."

Rising to the challenge, Ren smiled at the lady, whose presence in his younger life was just as large as she seemed right now, despite having grown a full head taller than her.

"Hai, Director Takamura," he answered, a confident and determined look returned to his eyes.

"So, anyway although I'm early, perhaps we can discuss the rest of the casting now. You may stay if you like, Ren-san."

Lory smiled at the unexpected turn of events.

_Oh, she is still so good at this_, he thought with a twinkle in his eye.

* * *

><p>AN: Inspiration for the music from the great YT: watch?v=hkWcUtga1lw. Have a listen. I hope you had as much fun listening to it as I did, Zelda lover or not. This chapter begged to be written. I put off homework again. Can't do it again for next chapter though. So apologies in advance it the next chapter takes a bit longer! Thanks for reading and reviewing 3 Mimi


	11. Chapter 11

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 11 - Girl Friends or Girlfriends?

A/N: Warning, there is some mention of a potentially sensitive topic in this and the next chapter. I sincerely hope that I do not accidentally upset anyone with it. I am also unfamiliar if it will bump me to a different rating, so please advise if you know differently. I'm currently going with a "if the shoe doesn't fit, don't try to squeeze your foot in" perspective, so if you don't think I mentioned anything that could be 'potentially sensitive' then please don't worry about it ^_^

* * *

><p>It was just about lunch time by the time the two girls got out of their first music appointment.<p>

After Taki-san (His face had been the perfect picture of revulsion when Kyoko tried to call him first Kitami-sensei, then Takishima-sensei, before she finally had to be coerced into calling him either 'The Great Taki-sama' or just Taki-san) and Saria-san's inspiring performance, the two girls had a few dozen questions to ask about their respective lessons. So, they'd split up, with Kanae going with her lovely lady instructor, and Kyoko left remaining with Taki in his studio to discuss her harp lessons.

With Saria's earlier assurance, and his obvious skill with the harp demonstrated, Kyoko was extremely at ease with Taki-san at that point. So much so that, Taki found it easy to slip out of the flirting façade he put on to keep people at bay, and just behave as he would with his close friends. He laughed at her spirited weirdness when she described parts of the performance that she described as magical and pretty with gleaming eyes, and listened attentively to her scheduling needs to offer suggestions for the lessons.

He was quite impressed with how much the girl was able to remember from their short performance, and knew he was definitely going to enjoy teaching this young lady to harness her potential when she was easily able to hum out the parts in the exact pitch and tune.

The only dark moment in the entire meeting was when Taki casually tried to garner additional information about her previous experiences with music. The change from 'golden girl' to 'ghost of gloominess' was startling, to say the least. She answered that she had played the guitar some with _someone_ (He detected the malice in that word) from her childhood. Recognizing a sore topic, he skipped over it and strived to bring the cheery girl back. He was glad it didn't take much.

If Taki was impressed with Kyoko's memory, Saria was floored by Kanae's ability to remember every bit of it. And despite not having any background in music, Kanae could recognize and describe the key points in the music, such as how the music would gradually get louder and softer, or when the song called for short touch-like handling to provide a detachment of the notes to each other and compare the techniques with other songs and music she'd heard of all sorts of genres.

The girl looked an ice beauty from the outside, but Saria sensed the burning professional within her. Saria certainly didn't mind and was able to respect that Kanae was not as whimsical as her short-haired partner, and stuck to normal business like questions – from curiosities about the techniques she saw, to what she would need to expect about getting her own instrument.

Both girls were told they would be able to practice at home – Kanae would be given her own violin to bring back and forth for lessons, while Kyoko would have her own harp delivered to her place of residence but use the student harp in Taki's studio for her learning sessions. Kanae smiled at the benefits she was reaping from accepting her role as Yukino, while Kyoko started estimating the cost of the instrument that she'd have to try to make up for to… someone at LME, she wasn't sure who, so she'd have to ask Sawara-san about it another time.

Now, the girls had just gotten off the bus at the shopping district that was their destination for the afternoon. Through the journey, they'd shared what occurred in their separate studios with each other and discussed travelling arrangements for the lessons.

Kyoko had picked to have only one 4 hour lesson each week that was broken into two sessions - before and after lunch, with her only other obligation that day being Kimagure Rock at TBM studios. So, she'd have plenty of time to get to and from the studio that was a good 20 minute travel by car in traffic-less conditions, and only have to travel the distance once a week.

Kanae, considering her more available schedule (which irked her to remind herself that she was not making much headway against this rival of hers), picked two mornings where she'd have been assigned to LoveMe duties in the office. If she got any offers in the near future, she was sure she'd be able to work around that schedule.

At the insistence of Kyoko, Kanae, who would have readily skipped having a meal to get on to more 'productive' things, walked into the Sushi-ya restaurant that advertised an affordable lunch. Taking a seat by the tables instead of the conveyor belt to avoid being tempted to eat more than she should, she opened the menu and ordered one of the sushi sets being promoted.

After placing her own order of a similar sushi set that Kanae chose, Kyoko was about to start idle conversation with Kanae when she was interrupted by the vibrations from her phone.

Glancing at the Unknown Caller flashing on her phone's tiny screen, she looked up at Kanae with a shrug and answered it.

"Moshi moshi."

Silence.

Kyoko's eyes narrowed recalling other occasions where she'd gotten calls with no one on the other end, which involved two people she did not care to think about. But, remembering her present company, she decided not to let it affect her, hung up, and placed the phone on the table with a quiet "thunk".

"Who was that?" Kanae didn't miss how her eyes had narrowed.

"No one," she evaded. "Probably a wrong number or prank call."

The phone on the table vibrated again.

Kyoko answered again with the same greeting, her lips pasted into a thin smile as if she wasn't exasperated at all. She wasn't fooling anyone.

She hung up again, and this time turned off vibrate mode, before placing it back on the table to be ignored.

Kanae still had her eye on the now-offensive phone. While Kyoko started talking about wanting to look up the sheet music for the songs that their instructor's played this morning, the phone's screen lit up to signal another call.

After Kyoko ignored it for about 5 flashes, Kanae went "MO!" and answered it herself.

"Hi, this is Kyoko's phone!" she said in a high pitched cheerful voice that did not match her current facial expression.

"Uh… can I speak to Kyoko?" an oddly disguised and yet familiar voice was heard.

"Oh, you must be another one of those male fans of hers that are crazy over her performance as Natsu!" Kanae continued in the exaggerated fake high-pitched voice. Kyoko muffled a giggle.

"Well, I'm sorry to break this to you, but Natsu is not interested in guys anymore now that she has me."

Shock changed to stifled hilarity at her next line, "Though every time she gets a call from a male, it just makes me SOOOO jealous, that I just have to reassure myself and…" Kanae made a half meow half growling sound.

"So, thanks for that, and have a great day!" Kanae hung up with a resolute push of the button.

With the same expressionless face she had through the entire phone call, she looked at Kyoko who had both hands covering her mouth. Unable to hold it in any longer, she burst out laughing so hard that a few heads turned from other tables. She was laughing so hard, that even Kanae broke into a grin at the performance she just threw at that unsuspecting caller.

"That… was… so… funny!" Kyoko said in between catching her breath.

"Well, whatever it was, it worked, because you're not getting anymore prank calls," Kanae replied with a small smile, gesturing to the silent and unlit phone lying on the table with a nod of her head.

"But seriously, you should look into changing your phone number," she continued, her serious face back in place.

"And this time, keep it away from crazy stalker fans," she scolded.

Kyoko's eyes teared up as she felt the concern from her bestest best friend in the world, and she reached across to hug her, a feat made impossible by the table in between them, and then began the ritualistic blocking of flaying arms while crying out "Mo!".

The sound of someone clearing their throat was heard from somewhere close. Hands from both parties in awkward positions, they froze and looked up to the direction of the sound. A waiter was carrying their foods and waiting for them to end their strange grappling so he could place them on the table.

Sheepishly, both girls sat down properly in their seats while they were served. While they ate, they returned to the casual conversation of sheet music, lessons and plans.

"Speaking of which," Kanae calmly said in between bites.

"I have an assignment for you."

* * *

><p>AN2: Not too long, this chapter. I hope everyone finds the wall of text that I started writing in - non-dialogue style - easy enough to read and understand. Please feel free to review and critique. And thanks for following the story. I'm sure a couple people can/are already guessing who makes an appearance next chapter ^_^


	12. Chapter 12

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 12 – Hitch in the Casting?

A/N: Again, apologies if the slight reference to potentially sensitive topic may offend anyone. And yes, I am finally introducing Sho for real in this story. I had a Sho Side story that I was going to play as a separate story, but I think I've decided that I can and will fit it into this one.

* * *

><p>He stared at the offensive phone.<p>

Then, he began pacing, thoughts racing through his head, his silent phone still gripped tightly in his hand.

_Ok, think, the last time something like this happened, you came to the wrong conclusion that she was having some kind of relationship with that half-bit actor and the stupid dog, _he lectured himself.

_This time is better! She didn't call out either name when I stayed quiet on the line!_

_But what was with that woman that answered the phone like that! _he ran his hand through his hair as if the movement would help him answer that the question better.

He recalled the earlier phone call he'd made to his childhood friend slash present greatest enemy.

_I just have to reassure myself and…_ In his head he imitated the feminine voice that had said that, and tried to reproduce the sound she made that reminded him of cat in heat. Unconsciously, his hand reached out like a cat's come-hither action. Noticing the ridiculous hand gesture he just made, he quickly brought the guilty hand back to his side and looked around him.

Luckily, he was alone in his room at Akatoki Agency, and his manager wasn't due back for another hour while discussing his latest work with some producer.

He continued his pacing.

His decision to call his oldest friend had stemmed from an incident he ran into on his way back to his room. Some band members in the hallway were talking about the latest series called Box-R that was showing, and discussing how sexy Mio's new look was.

Sho recognized the name as one of the characters his Kyoko played, and briefly glanced over to them. They were passing around some of those little poster cards with a picture and name of the character from the show. Blending in with the group, he passed around the cards until he managed to get himself the poster card that they were talking about.

His jaw dropped when he realized that the girl in the picture really was his Kyoko. But she looked so…

_Impossible!_ he shook his head to remove the crazy thought. _Must be CGs!_

He quietly pocketed the deceptive poster card and continued back to his room. Behind him, the member who owned the poster cards cried in dismay when he collected them back to realize that his favorite one was missing and began arguing with the other members.

Then, he thought of the brilliant idea to call her and get her to admit that the poster card was done over by the computer to make her look … _different_, he settled for the neutral term.

He was going to use the PV he recommended her for as an excuse to call her.

But to his miscalculations, he did not expect that hearing her voice on the line would clam him up. Her cheery greeting to an unknown caller (He knew his number was always blocked for security reasons) brought back memories of that last time he'd called and not said a word, where that misleading girl had called out the name of his greatest (self-proclaimed) rival in such a quiet and shy tone.

That reminder had him pacing faster.

_It was a misunderstanding back then! I even ended up thinking she got herself a boyfriend since she gave homemade Valentine Day chocolates to the copy cat beagle. Misunderstanding!_

_But what was with that woman that answered the phone like that? _His mind returned to the unexplainable conversation with that voice he did not recognize.

The woman had admitted that Kyoko was Natsu, the name printed on the card, and that they were… together?

Sho's over-active mind conjured up an image of Natsu wrapped seductively around the dark haired girl he'd seen Kyoko with in the soda commercial (The cool beauty was the first girl that came to his mind). His imagination continued to move the pretty girl's mouth and add the words the mystery woman said to him,

_Natsu is not interested in guys anymore now that she has me_, the image smirked at him. The words from one of his naughtier songs played in the background.

_Seductive smile, you know I want you_

_Want to be wrapped around you_

_Feeling your heat, so dangerously close_

_Let us combine our bodies, Oh~_

Sho groaned out loud and crouched down, both hands pressing the sides of his head as if willing his brain to stop creating images and adding his stupid lyrics.

_She wouldn't have! She couldn't have!_ He denied fervently. He knew that she hated him, even admitted that he deserved it, and that she did so with a passion that she's sworn of love entirely. But could that passion turn her swearing off love to swearing off men?

He accidentally kicked one of the empty cans of beer on the floor from the night before with this pacing, the sound of the clink of metal hitting the wall pausing his train of thoughts. Scowling as he realized that the cleaning crew hadn't made it in yet, he started scrolling through numbers in his phone for a willing distraction to remind him that women were into guys, not girls.

* * *

><p>With hawk like eyes imprinting every small detail in her mind, Kanae examined the figure behind revealed curtains of the dressing room.<p>

Kyoko had walked in to that dressing room with some clothes she had decided would fit the bill.

It hadn't been an easy task to get this far. When Kanae explained to her that she wanted her to start creating the character of Izumi today, due to a request from the President that was passed down through Sawara-san, Kyoko was immediately skeptical. It wasn't until Kanae threw in that she wanted to start practicing her own role with 'him' that Kyoko rose to the challenge.

Kanae was tasked to go shopping with her friend who was to find clothing that would fit her Izumi. It appeared that there was a small problem with the casting that the higher ups of the show were worried about. Immediately defensive, she agreed to the assignment so that she could prove that they didn't have anything to worry about with having Kyoko as Izumi.

Kyoko wasn't so sure that she'd be able to create a satisfactory Izumi though. Especially, since the only older male high school student-like person she could use as reference was a narcissist that she definitely didn't want Izumi turning out to be like!

So, she thought about using young Kuon again, but Kanae's voice from the phone conversation a couple nights ago reminded her that young Kuon was too… young. Shrugging to herself, she decided to try to imagine young Kuon when he was a little older.

She racked her imagination for a good image of what young Kuon would be like when he was older. Saddened by the reminder that young Kuon never got to grow up, leaving behind a saddened father, she had difficulty imagining the young man he would have become. It was also kind of hard to picture how anyone would turn out if they had a great actor as his Otou-san.

Around that time, Kyoko was sifting through the clothes in the young men's section of the store they had entered to work out this assignment, under Kanae's watchful gaze. The older girl kept an eye on her, noticing the blank look on her face as she absently flipped through the clothes on the racks, one by one.

Since she didn't get anywhere trying to imagine a younger version of Otou-san, (she couldn't work out the generation difference in her head, not to mention the difference in location) her thoughts veered to the next closest guy, in age, to her Izumi – her sempai.

Kanae continued to observe her partner, whose face now had this weird look like she was trying to imagine something.

Unaware of the observations, Kyoko pictured the young Tsuruga Ren in her mind, a shorter replica of the real one. His hair tidy and complimenting his sculptured face, his uniform pressed and neatly tucked in, he strolled down her imaginary school corridor with a school bag propped over his right shoulder casually, her mind adding the flock of high school girls that were by the classroom windows, staring at him with hearts in their eyes, wishing he would look their way.

Kyoko shook the fan girls from her imagination. After a few more minutes of considering traits of her sempai , (and she quickly scratched of playboy from the list of traits she wanted for her role), her eyes lit up and Kanae could practically see the light bulb that turned on over head.

Without wasting any time, Kyoko started going through some of the racks she'd flipped through while thinking, pulled out some clothes from several of them and headed to the dressing room.

Kanae smirked to herself realizing that Kyoko had walked in a she, and was now transformed into a rather convincing he.

Dressed in a simple but stylish white buttoned down short sleeve shirt that was neatly tucked into the hem of the jeans, 'he' stood with a nonchalant but un- cocky aura. A tie hung fashionably loose around 'his' neck. With a small smile, and a gentlemanly bow, 'he' spoke to her in a low but firm voice.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, my lady."

Kanae continued to inspect the product of Kyoko's imagination as 'he' returned to a standing position, the expression on her face one of respect, reverence and adoration that Izumi would have towards Yukino. 'He' exuded a prince-like aura, looked confident, strong and surprisingly manly, despite knowing that it was Kyoko underneath that created persona.

But there was something off with the image. Kanae walked into the dressing room with 'him' as she tried to figure it out. She looked into the large dressing room mirror at how they looked as a pair, and that was when she realized what the President wanted her to see and why she was asked to take 'him' shopping.

"Darn it. You're shorter than me."

* * *

><p>AN2: ^_^ It's not a major crisis, and rest assured it will get fixed. The show must go on! Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	13. Chapter 13

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 13 – Pink

A/N: Dear readers, thank you very much for your support with my story. I truly apologize for the sudden MIA status from updating at my normal pace. Procrastination only worked so long and I had to catch up on all of my school projects ;) They are done now! So thank you for waiting, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story. I am certainly enjoying writing it! I can't wait for the next chapter! (Wait, am I supposed to say that?) *grin*

* * *

><p>Kyoko pouted, completely out of 'Kei' mode. Kei was the name she decided to call her prince persona that she'd be using for male-Izumi. Since it was no longer entirely the real Kuon, she felt that calling it Kuon was a little unfitting. Thus, Kei was born.<p>

She wasn't happy that she kind of got an NG from her best friend just as soon as she'd made the character. But only a guy as princely as Kei was fitting for her beloved Kanae slash Yukino. So, even Kyoko admitted that the couple of inches she was shorter by made Kei look… girly when Kanae stood next to her.

She was waiting now, still in Kei's clothes in the dressing room, while Kanae reported the result of the assignment to Sawara-san.

"Yes, I understand," she heard Kanae answer into the phone.

"Okay, thanks, we'll see you later, Sawara-san," Kanae ended the call.

Turning her attention back to the girl-guy in the dressing room, she said, "Well, I confirmed that the height difference was what they were worried about."

Depressed now, thinking that she was going to get cut from the role, Kyoko looked down at her feet miserably, waiting for Kanae to finish her off with the news.

"Turns out they were expecting it to miss a few aesthetic points and have already planned a backup."

"Since, it would be difficult for them to make me look shorter without a lot of extra work, they went for plan B," Kanae continued, "They are ordering some special shoes for the role."

"Seems that they'll be incorporating some new details in the plot to include the shoes – kind of like part of Izumi's disguise as a guy."

"That way there won't be any plot holes regarding the height difference between the scenes where Izumi is being a girl, and when she's being a guy," Kanae told her renewed friend, who now realized that she wasn't being cut from the series because of a few inches.

"So, hurry up and change back now."

Listing the tasks ahead of them, Kanae said, "We need to go shoe shopping, find some lifts for the new shoes, and then we need to meet Sawara-san before he leaves the office!" Kanae finished, closing the dressing room curtains forcefully.

* * *

><p>"So, how'd it go with the new students?" A young teenage girl, asked her older male and female companions over lunch at the Ramen-ya noodle restaurant that the trio decided to eat at.<p>

"I really like them," the lady said, glancing over to the man, signaling his turn to respond.

"Yeah, they're both pretty enthusiastic and I can already tell that teaching Kyoko how to play the harp for her show will be fun AND interesting," Taki smiled, remembering his latest student.

"They're both quite talented too. A bit of guidance and instruction, and those girls will be playing like masters. At least, on film," Saria added, grinning.

"How'd they like your performance?" The young girl queried, between slurps of her ramen.

The harp instructor's smile grew wider, "They loved it! I think if she wasn't such a polite and formal girl, she'd have called me 'the Great Taki-sama'," he said with much exaggeration at the self-declared title.

"Well, they didn't recognize the songs though, since they don't play any games," Saria said.

The movement of chopsticks from lips to bowl stopped for a split second and was only caught by Saria's knowing and watching eyes.

"The food here is really good!" Saria announced abruptly, "How come we haven't eaten here before? And why did you want to eat here anyway, Miki?"

Ignoring the question while she took the last gulp of soup from the bowl, she finally answered with her unoccupied mouth, "There's a game store that is having a sale down the corner. There's a discount on certain game soundtracks and other collection items that are rare to find."

_Like the 'Princess Zelda and Link's Romance' fan novel that is TO DIE FOR._ She finished silently in her head.

"Still into that stuff, are you?" Taki smirked at the young girl. Mad at the tactless man, Saria stepped on his foot.

"Ow! What'd you do that for?" he cried, a confused look aimed at Saria.

Knowing exactly what her older cousin was thinking, Miki responded, "I'm an otaku and I'm not ashamed about it."

"But I know that not very many share the same passion as me, which is why neither of you knew the songs either until I showed you the video I posted on YouTube with a medley of my favorite songs over my favorite images from the game," she shrugged.

It really didn't bother her to be labeled that way. She wouldn't try to hide herself if she was looking at the latest dating sim, with the unrealistically hot girl and guy characters. Or if she was going go fan girl over Final Fantasy 7's Tifa and Cloud cosplay models at ComicCon. Or if she was staring dreamily at the custom made jewelry that were fashioned from rupees from Zelda games.

But no one could fault the girl for wanting to find someone to share the hobby with. It didn't look like her friends' new students were in to the same things she was.

_But at least they know how to appreciate good music_, she thought, referring to Taki's description of their response to the medley.

"But, Miki, as a high school girl, aren't you supposed to screaming about popular TV and music celebrities and having crushes on high school boys, and not going 'Kyaaa!' over games with sword slashing and blood gushing?" Taki continued with no more tact than before, distracted away from finding out why his foot got stomped on.

Which earned him a heel-grind on the same foot from under the table.

"Ow!" Looking pitifully confused at his childhood friend who had just so brutally stepped on his foot, he slowly got up to take care of the bill, a slight limp in his swagger to the cashier.

"Saria onee-san, you really don't need to do that to him," Miki coaxed her cousin. "You know better than I do that he means no harm."

"Yes, yes. But he should really learn to watch what he says! In a few more years we'll be 30 and he still wouldn't have gained any tact," Saria responded, shaking her head at the hopelessness.

"But you love him anyway," Miki teased, her voice lowered to a whisper.

The older lady glanced over at the clueless man chatting happily with the cute little waitress behind the cashier, and wistfully answered, "Yes, I do."

Knowing the strife her cousin felt about her feelings for her childhood friend, Miki wisely kept quiet.

Despite the close-to-a-decade age gap, the two girls were close. They'd grown up together, and Taki and Saria were like the older brother and sister she didn't have. She had missed them terribly when they went to America. Their presence and then their absence from her life were what triggered her maturing faster than her teenage peers.

But they're back now, and have been for nearly a year, working regular stable jobs at Forever Music Studio. It was just like them to choose to be teachers and sharing their love for their talent instead of reaching for the fame and glory of being performers. They still took on gigs here and there, which helped the financial side of things, and kept them in the loop with the current music industry.

Miki stared at her cousin, and though she wondered why she wouldn't just tell or show him how she felt, she already knew the answer. She didn't want to risk what they had. She was mostly content, so even if she cried when he was heartbroken by another girl, or watched his interest in someone else grow to dangerous levels, she would always have him in her life.

She always was, and always will be, special to him. And that was enough for her.

Reminiscing the same old reasons her cousin would give her every time the topic arised, Miki definitely had no doubts that Saria was indeed special to Taki. She smiled a little when she remembered the time one of his 'potential' interests had made a comment on his Facebook wall about not wanting him to spend so much time with Saria, and how Taki had responded.

'Sorry, hun. No can do. If it's a problem, then things just won't work out between us.' he commented back. Which led that relationship to the limit of its potential.

The topic of both girls' thoughts returned to the table.

"Ready to head back to work?" Taki asked his partner, his normal silly grin on his face. "You need a lift to where you headed, Miki?"

"Nope, walking. Thanks though," Miki answered, getting up.

The older pair exchanged goodbyes with her at the door, and headed towards Taki's car.

Miki glanced at her watch and figured she'd be just on time to catch the Heaven Games Gallery opening back up from lunch.

* * *

><p>Yashiro found a pink envelope on his desk when he dropped by to grab the latest copy of his charge's schedule.<p>

His first thought was that it was a love letter for Ren due to the pinkness, and his inner fangirl was calculating the possibility that it was from Kyoko-chan. The result was quickly determined to be zero , when he picked it up.

It read, _Tsuruga Ren and Yashiro Yukihito_ on the front, and had a sticker of a bunny sealing the envelope flap.

Curiously, he began to open it.

* * *

><p>"Sanada-producer!" a voice called to the older man who was walking down the studio hall to his office.<p>

Iori turned to the voice. One of his studio assistants was headed in his direction, and he was holding a bright pink envelope.

When he reached his quarry, the assistant bowed politely and said, breathlessly for his travels, "Please accept this."

Staring blankly at the extended pink envelope for a few seconds, he finally told the young assistant, "I am sorry, Kito-san. I don't swing that way, and I am married."

The assistant turned a bright pink to match the envelope and exclaimed to the stern faced man, "No! I mean, Sanada-producer, this came in for you just now! I am just delivering it!"

"Oh okay, thank you then," Iori took the pink envelope and continued on his way, his serious expression masking his embarrassment at his assumption.

Behind the closed door to his office, he looked at the pink envelope with the bunny sticker, and reached for his letter opener.

* * *

><p>Kijima Hidehito was delighted to see a pink envelope with his name on it on his car windshield, held in place by the windshield wipers, wondering which pretty lady it was from.<p>

He removed it from its hold and got into his vehicle. Anxiously, he gently removed the cute bunny sticker.

* * *

><p>"Oh how cute! Chiori, there is something in the mail for you!" her mother called up the stairs.<p>

Chiori headed down to see what the fuss was about.


	14. Chapter 14

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 14 – First Impressions Pt 1

* * *

><p>Hands in his pants pockets, Sho skulked his way into some random store that sold games that looked interesting enough to waste some time in. He was disguised in a low cap and dark sunglasses, and he wasn't wearing his usual attention catching outfits, because he really didn't want to be recognized in his current mood.<p>

He'd left the agency to go hang out with Mimori a.k.a. Pochiri, an up-and-coming actress from the same agency who thought she was in love with him, in her dressing room, but her incessant fan girl yapping had irked him more than eased him. So after giving her the obligatory kiss on the cheek to appease her, he got out of there and went home.

His mood dropped even more when he got home - there was no one waiting for him. Which was only natural since Shoko-san had gotten him his own apartment in the same building as her, so he could be close enough to keep an eye on but not raise any weird rumors or scandals. Contrary to her voluptuous looks and his flirtatious attitude towards her, Shoko Aki was a consummate professional, and took her role as his manager, and caretaker while under the agency since he was underage, very seriously. But even knowing that he lived alone, there was a small twinge near the middle of his chest that he could not place as he walked through the empty living room to his bedroom.

On top of that, his mind was still stuck on the nonsensical phone call from the morning, that just left too much to imagination, Sho just couldn't help feeling sulky. So, he dressed down into non-celebrity clothes and went to go take in some sights on his own, something he hadn't really done since he'd become the popular pop star he did.

Now, in the store, he looked over titles of games that he hadn't seen since he was younger. He remembered playing Soul Blazer on the SNES past his bedtime, Kyoko taking frequent peeks at the door to make sure his parents weren't coming while trying to convince him to stop playing and go to bed before he gets in trouble. He frowned at the memory of his childhood friend, who was one of the sources of his current mood.

Shaking the thought out, he moved on to the next game and started humming the Soul Blazer theme song, since he diverted his mind to pull up something else and his musician brain found the catchy tune at the tip of his memory. He was still humming as he glanced over some titles he didn't recognize when he heard a girl's voice from behind him.

"That's from Soul Blazer, isn't it?"

Sho turned around slowly, keeping his hat low. Hopefully he wouldn't be recognized.

"Yes, it's a really old game," he answered calmly.

"I've played it a few times. It's pretty addictive."

Behind the shades, Sho looked over the girl who was, unexpectedly, making small talk with him about games.

She was kind of plain looking, didn't look like she was wearing any make up, and was dressed in a simple baby-T and a pair of casual jeans that looked very well worn. He noticed her really long straight black hair, which fell just below her waist, that was unadorned and two very simple earring studs on her earlobes.

Her face was pretty enough, nothing breathtaking or special, but his eyes were immediately drawn to one thing – she had the most amazing emerald eyes.

"Anyone ever tell you that it was rude to stare?" the mysterious green-eyed girl said to him, a smirk on her face.

Taken aback at being called out for staring, Sho quickly averted his gaze and only managed to lamely say, "What? Oh, sorry."

The corner of her lips curved upwards, and she let out a small laugh. He turned his eyes back at her at the sound. It wasn't a coy giggle like his fan-girls were always making. And it struck a chord in him. It reminded him of Kyoko before she hated him.

Before he could wallow in that thought, his company sheepishly said to him, a light blush on her cheeks, "Actually, I was just teasing. You know, I can't see past those shades. But, thanks, I think."

Just now remembering that he was wearing shades, he hurriedly pulled them off. In the split second that he did so, he also remembered why he was wearing the shades.

He cringed as he thought that he had just exposed the Number 1 music celebrity Fuwa Sho, as a lame geek that played video games and didn't know how to talk to girls. But the girl didn't react with any gasp of realization or fan-girl screams.

Without the shades of the sunglasses marring his vision, his eyes finally made eye-contact with hers. The brightness of her eyes astounding him, he did not realize it, but he was definitely staring again.

She laughed that laugh again, still a shade pink, but she waved her hand in front of his face and said, "Hello? You okay? It looked like that sudden intake of light when you took off your sunglasses may have stunned you like the zombies to the Song of the Sun."

It took four beats for Sho to make the connection of her reference to the Zelda: Ocarina of Time game. And it was his turn to laugh.

This whole encounter with this stranger had been one sort of ridiculous to another, and Sho couldn't hold back his mirth. First, he found himself attracted to a relatively plain looking girl that had powerful green eyes that seemed to draw him to them. Then, he practically stammered and admitted to staring at the girl behind sunglasses. Then he removed said sunglasses and carelessly risked exposing his identity. And then he basically acknowledged the fact that he was a gamer when he was able to understand her reference to the popular N64 game he played a few years back. Not his everyday experience, that's for sure.

Feeling a little more like himself after laughing at himself, he flashed her one of his more usual smiles that usually had his fan-girls swooning.

But far from fainting, the object of his attention was no longer smiling, a distant expression on her face, dimming the earlier radiant eyes. Concerned at the abrupt change, he hurriedly asked her, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

As if his question surprised her out of her thoughts, she looked pensive for a few moments and then said evasively, "Hmm, I guess not."

"No, tell me," Sho insisted, his earlier sour mood forgotten and replaced by a mix of curiosity and apprehension at his peculiar acquaintance.

Her smirk returned slightly as she said, "Hey, look at that, you can make conversation after all. I had you pinned as one of those quiet guys that only talk to people anonymously behind characters."

He toyed with and pulled down the flap of his cap a little. "I'm usually a lot cooler than this." And even he had to admit that that line and his behavior since meeting this mystery girl has been anything but cool and impressive. He wasn't sure what it was, but being around someone who seemed like she didn't know who he was was rather refreshing – though his pop-star pride hurt just a little that he wasn't recognized and admired by everyone. But today, it felt right.

Her smile returned fully now, "Uh huh, sure."

"Do you normally start random conversations with guys in game stores?" he retorted.

Exaggerating her movement to show that she was thinking about a response to his question, she answered smoothly, "No, not particularly, though I have heard people use game related pick up lines."

"But really, no. I heard the humming and hadn't played that game in a while, that it felt like the natural thing to say," she said with a shrug.

"And to answer your earlier question, no, nothing is wrong. I guess I was a little over sensitive because of an earlier conversation with someone else. I thought you were laughing at me for being an otaku," she continued.

"Huh? No, I was really laughing at myself, because I caught the reference," Sho admitted frankly, "It's funny how some things stay with you even though it's been a while."

"The game and the tunes are so memorable, but, yeah, the music in that game is one of the things that really drew me," she responded.

"You're into music? J-Pop?" he asked, trying to figure out if she really didn't recognize him or was just being coy.

"No, none of that," she answered with a wave of the hand, "I don't keep up with the trends. I like a lot of the game melodies. Zelda songs are my absolute favorite."

"By the way, I never introduced myself. Sorry, I'm Miki," she greeted, outstretching her hand to him for a handshake.

Unused to the casual gesture from a person without a Y chromosome and because she introduced herself with only her first name, he unthinkingly did the same as he shook her hand, "I'm Sho."

"Sho-kun then?" she asked, requesting permission to address him more familiarly, considering the circumstances.

He nodded, his brief hesitation gone since it seemed that she really doesn't know him as Fuwa Sho, Japan's top musician, and then said more eloquently, "It is nice to meet you, Miki-chan."

"It was nice to meet you, too."

He was about to ask her what she was doing here, when a sudden vibration from the cell phone in his pocket required his attention. Whipping it out, he looked at the flashing screen and saw his manager's name screaming at him. And the time printed in the corner of said blinking display.

"Crap!" he exclaimed. He slid the still vibrating phone in his pocket and continued in a hurry, "Sorry, I have to go. Do you have a phone?"

He stuck his hand out to her, palm up, and she reactively answered by putting her phone in his hand before she'd realized what she'd done.

He quickly flipped open the device and pushed a few buttons. Then, he returned it to its owner and said, "I just called my phone on yours, so I have your number now, and you have mine. I gotta run. See ya."

Not waiting for a response from her, he jetted out of store.

Left holding the returned phone in her hand, she thought about what just happened and broke into a grin.

_That move should be added into a dating sim,_ the green-eyed girl thought.

* * *

><p>AN: Weeeee! This chapter turned out to be a Sho Side Story chapter! Many apologies for those that were expecting revelations of the pink envelopes, but that'll have to wait till next chapter. This one just wanted to be written, as you may be able to tell from the 2-day new chapter update! Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing as usual. I hope Sho does not seem too OOC. Till the next chapter! - Mimi


	15. Chapter 15

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 15 – First Impressions Pt 2

* * *

><p>"Wow," the talent department head said in amazement.<p>

He looked at the picture in the device in his hand. And then glanced up at the amber-eyed girl standing in front of his desk. And then back down at the picture again.

"If I didn't know better, I would have thought this was a picture of a young teenage male model," he continued his praise.

The young 'man' in the picture wore a black long sleeved shirt and a pair of khakis. 'He' was not looking at the phone camera, and had one sleeve rolled up to 'his' elbow, and was working on the other, when the picture was taken. 'His' face was angled to the person 'he' appeared to be talking to, the posture, the angle of the hips in 'his' stance - the entire ensemble put together did not hint at this being a fake male.

Takenori looked up at the girl again and easily found similarities when he had them both in front of him to compare like this. But on its own… he looked at the phone one more time.

_Looks really can be deceiving_, he thought, silently returning the phone to LoveMe member number two, who pocketed the item.

Kyoko beamed at the commendation from her pseudo-manager. She was happy that Kei appeared to have passed muster, and she really wasn't going to get cut from this role. The only thing that didn't sit well with her was Kei's hair color. Her hair was short enough for a boy's, and was just long enough to be styled differently to a more guy-like hair style – a couple swipes of hair gel to spike it just enough but still let it curl down softly.

But the color, Kyoko decided, would have to change. Kanae had already vehemently rejected her idea for silver hair (Like a prince of course!) when she brought it up the first time on their way back to LME. But her best friend's suggestion of a darker blonde color would fit well too, and she voiced the idea out loud to Sawara-san.

"Hmm…" he mused at the idea, "I'll bring it up to them at our next meeting. So, don't go doing anything on your own with it for now," he warned, remembering the feedback he'd gotten the last time she had decided to change her hairstyle to fit her version of the demonic heiress of the Hongo family.

"Speaking of meetings," the older man opened one of his desk drawers and withdrew two bright pink envelopes.

Checking the handwritten names on the front, he handed them each their own and said, "These are from the director of Rhapsody."

The two girls stared at the envelopes that were prettily sealed with a bunny sticker. Kanae exchanged an 'I don't know what this is about' look with her pink companion, and Kyoko gulped and began carefully opening hers.

"It is nothing to worry about, girls. It is just an invitation for a few of the key people to meet up for the first time. Director Takamura has known the President for a long time," Sawara-san explained, "And it seems they share a few things in common."

"Like dressing up in outrageous costumes?" Kyoko threw in, jokingly as she removed her invitation from the envelope. She was surprised when the talent head answered seriously, "Sort of."

_Oh boy_, was all Kanae thought when she heard that. Her invitation now open, she read it.

_Rhapsody Cast and Friends_

_You are hereby cordially invited to a special lunch meeting this Saturday at:_

_**Lot 3, LME Studios**_

_All participants are required to bring a dish – extra points for home-cooked food_

In the bottom right corner, she had signed her name in beautiful calligraphy as just Takamura, and stuck one of the bunny stickers next to it.

Tucking the invitation back in its enclosure, Kyoko nervously realized that things were progressing faster than she expected with the series. She had barely made one part of her character!

The other of the pink duo, however, was thinking of something else entirely.

_Food? We have to bring food? What kind of weird set-up is this? _Kanae thought, irritably. _This better not turn out to be some President Lory style picnic._

* * *

><p>"Next time, if you are on your way, at least answer the phone," Sho's manager grumbled not too quietly as they walked down the Akatoki Agency hallways to his private room.<p>

"Yeah yeah, quit whining, I wasn't that late, was I?" Sho replied, uncaringly.

"Lately it's been tougher to book the studio rooms for private sessions, since all the newer talent groups want to use them and priority goes to them," Aki explained, "After all, it's not like you can't just practice, or whatever it is you do on your own in there, when you're at home or somewhere else."

"I've already told you, it's different," Sho griped, "At the very least, it needs to be a decent sized room with sound proof walls."

His efficient manager pondered what he really did in there. It wasn't until a little while after the Vie Ghoul incident, where some new random group had copied his style and stolen his work to rise up in the charts, that this demand to have a studio room for himself for a few hours a couple of times a week came to fruit. And she wasn't allowed to be there either. She thought he was still paranoid about the whole event, so she's let it slide and given in to his not-so-flexible request.

"Well, the Akatoki ones are booked for the next couple of weeks," she said, "But I managed to book you a studio room at a music school close to the apartment."

Sho unleashed his usual flirtations on her when he got what he wanted from her, "Thank you, Aki-chan. For that, I will come over and reward you tonight."

The beautiful lady allowed him to surround her in his arms and nuzzle her neck seductively, but as normal, she put her hand to stop him whenever he tried to do anything more, and he would stop and carry on his usual self.

She was used to his attempts to seduce her but knew it was just part of his "I am Fuwa Sho. I am the best and no one can resist me." personality that made him exercise the boundaries. With the help of Akatoki's president, their relationship of manager and rising star had been clearly defined, and he knew where the line was drawn.

Aki had genuine affection for her young charge, despite his constant arrogance and conceit that were his price for music brilliance. His ability was not exaggerated, and Sho's music had become even better since the Karuizawa episode. She believed it had to do with his childhood friend that brought the new and rawer emotions into his music.

Sho would never ever admit it to her though. Sometimes she wondered if she had the two childhood friends pinned wrongly. What with the whole Valentine Day escapade he had gone through, when he had asked what it meant when a girl gave homemade chocolates to a guy that she supposedly hated, seemed to point towards jealousy and regret. But then after he had met her again, bearing a gorgeous bouquet of flowers as a gift, there had been no progress or change in their relationship. She wasn't sure what to make of it.

As per their normal routine, they parted ways at his room, where he would change into less conspicuous jogging clothing and jog home. As she turned and left to finish up some leftover work she had, she couldn't help thinking admirably, that though he'd never wake up early to exercise (and was a pain to wake up period), he was surprisingly steadfast to his customary run home from the agency headquarters.

* * *

><p>Sho was just getting out of the shower, his blonde hair dripping water over his towel clad body, when he heard the familiar tone of a newly received text message on his phone.<p>

With another towel in his right hand and rubbing his hair dry, his left picked up the gadget and clicked to view the message.

_Were you late?_

Although he did not have it saved yet, he recognized the number. He had spent a few minutes staring at the phone in the studio, debating whether or not to delete the number he had spontaneously taken from the green-eyed girl named Miki.

After deciding that he would neither delete it nor save it, he had put the phone away and strummed a few random chords on his guitar to refocus himself.

He actually did take the studio time to practice on his own. Though it wasn't really practicing as much as it was brainstorming. He had plenty of songs in his mind, but they could always be improved on. So he'd play any and every song that came to his mind based on his mood, on whatever instrument he felt like, until the music called to him. Then he would fine tune it to perfection and store it in the music sheet library in his head to be put to paper when he next felt inclined to.

The entire process was quite erratic, and he didn't want to be interrupted, nor did he want to be pestered to produce any particular song he may have been practicing on until he felt he was ready. Not to mention, he got in some rather weird moods that he rather not show anyone else while he was 'music searching'. He considered them weird because he could never place what exactly he was feeling. But he'd found several songs that way, so he wasn't complaining.

Now, he had to choose whether to respond to the casual question, or ignore the message and disassociate himself with anything to do with the mysterious girl from the game store who did not know who he was, despite being the holder of the top six spots on the music charts.

A few minutes later, he convinced himself that he would impress her with his skills and personality without knowing who he was, and convert her to full time Sho-ism like the rest of his fans. It would be a nice change from the girls that start out screaming after him, he thought as he started planning his conquest.

Arrogantly grinning at himself, he typed a response on his way to his manager's room.

_Yeah. It was no big deal. Just going to dinner now. You?_

* * *

><p>She just knew it.<p>

When the three LoveMe girls entered the third lot in the LME, she had to wonder how much the President really had involved with this meeting. Because it just screamed 'President Lory was here'.

The lots at LME studio were used for various filming, with a lot of major props and fixtures applicable to a type of scene. The big sign that said 'Lot 3 – Office Building' was extremely misleading.

Because instead of an open area with stages built with rooms that contained assorted office furniture, the lot had been transformed into an enclosed forest.

The cardboard trees made a path for the girls to follow until it opened into a 'clearing' where a long picnic table was the centerpiece, with a few smaller picnic tables on the sides.

Kanae looked at backdrop that had been put up beyond the trees, and turned to see her best friend's reaction. Sure enough, Kyoko was staring at the large castle in the 'distance' with glittering eyes and her hands clasped together to hold her excitement, the plastic bag that held the dish she brought already forgotten by her feet.

"MO! Come on, let's put this junk down somewhere already!" she exclaimed, pulling LoveMe number one back to reality.

Awakened from her fantasy, she took one last glance at the dreamlike castle and picked up her bag to catch up to Kanae who had headed to one of the smaller picnic tables.

As they were getting there, the trees on their right began to rumble and then slid open to reveal an emerging shadow. Expecting to see the President, all three girls stared in shock when a female voice said, "Welcome ladies!" and a woman came forward from behind the sliding forest.

Dressed up as a scantily clad... bear?

* * *

><p>AN: I am a bigger fan of Ren than Sho, but the flow of the story demanded that that part come first. I miss Ren, too. But he will get attention later, I promise.

I hope that showing some of Sho's behavior that was not seen in the manga gives more depth to his character in my story but not make him seem to OOC. I like thinking about the 'behind the scenes' things that we just never knew about Sho. And image of Sho dripping from the shower… Yea, that part was just extra for my sake. *grin*

Thank you for reading and reviewing – Mimi

P.S: Usagi-chan is so fun :)


	16. Chapter 16

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 16 – Friends and Rivals

* * *

><p>Lory was thrilled when he arrived at the third LME Studio lot!<p>

Him, and his entourage of 'Men in Tights' (fully equipped with tights!) that sang the song loudly and proudly, had arrived only minutes after his favorite girls first encountered their delightful director.

The cosplaying president hadn't expected to have the lot converted into a forest to match his theme of the day – Robin Hood. Knowing how dear Usagi-chan was with missing the costume by a few points, he was delighted to see the path of trees that led into the clearing fitting his theme.

That was, until he got her attention with his grand entrance.

Usagi was hidden behind his three pink clad girls when he first reached the clearing, but when she heard him, she appeared from around them and his eyes widened as he took in what her costume was.

His smile never faltering though, his opened his arms and exclaimed, "Usagi-chan!".

"Lory!" came the excited response from the costumed director, "You look dashing as Robin Hood! I love the boots!"

As they exchanged their greetings and spoke in secretive whispers, the three LoveMe girls continued to stare with shocked expressions on their faces at the scene of the tall president in a forest green vest and long brown chaps hugging the shorter and smaller lady that was dressed in a long sleeved body hugging brown furry top that left her midriff bare, skin tight velvet brown leggings that hugged her well shaped legs, a bear-ears headband and a pair of brown and fuzzy bedroom slippers.

Kanae was the first to wake up from her shock, and thought quickly of a way to get her and her friends away before they were infected by whatever crazy disease the president and their new director had.

"Director-san, we're just going to put our dishes on these small picnic tables and go take our seats somewhere while we wait for everyone else to arrive," she said loudly, hoping to stir her two companions from there stunned state.

The lady in question turned back towards them, smile still largely in place, and replied, "Yes, yes, please help yourself. The table has a set seating arrangement, so please sit where you can find your name," before turning her attention back to the eccentric president.

Having been officially dismissed, Kanae literally shook her two friends so they could help her put the food on the table and get to safer grounds.

From their position by the small picnic tables they could no longer hear what was being said by the two costumed parties, and Kyoko noticed another older man joining them, but did not recognize him. Wondering if it would be someone in the cast, she mentally discarded the thought and continued focusing on putting out the dishes and arranging them in an appealing arrangement.

Her best friend also noticed the other man joining them, and her first thought was,

_That better not be Kouta_, she silently threatened the powers that might be, _because he looks old enough to be my father and there's going to need to be a significant amount of movie magic to make him look like a college student._

* * *

><p>"Usagi-chan!" Lory said excitedly, pulling her into a large bear hug. <em>Pun intended<em>, he thought laughingly.

"Lory! You look dashing as Robin Hood! I love the boots!" she replied, hugging back.

"Yes, they are quite comfortable too. I hope I am not too early," he said looking around at the only current attendees.

Kanae's voice called out from behind them, "Director-san, we're just going to put our dishes on these small picnic tables and go take our seats somewhere while we wait for everyone else to arrive."

Smiling back at them, Usagi replied an agreement and some simple instructions before returning her attention to the faux Robin Hood in her arms.

"So, Usagi-chan, this time I must ask, what's with the costume?" the mock forest hero questioned, more softly, lest he embarrass her for her choice of clothing.

"The costume?" she returned in kind, "Oh, it was either this barely-acceptable-for-my-age two piece or the full bear costume, with snout and bared teeth, that would have made it look like the bunny got eaten by the bear!"

A deep guffaw of laughter came from the 'Path of Trees' entrance.

"I, for one, am certainly glad you didn't pick the latter. You look smashing, my lovely Usagi-chan," the newcomer said with a wide grin as he walked up towards the two familiarly.

"Horio!" she exclaimed with enthusiasm, releasing Lory to hug the man whom they have both known for what seemed like forever.

"And I think what Lory meant was, why you didn't go with a Sheriff of Nottingham outfit, or Maid Marian, even? You would have made a fine Maid Marian, for sure," he said in a conspiratory tone.

She smiled back, releasing him from the hug, "You know me, Horio. Those would have been too predictable."

She waited patiently, her smile still wide and excited, as the two friends exchanged their greetings with a handshake and their own hug.

"Lory, it is good to see you, old friend," Horio said.

"And you, you old geezer," Lory replied amicably.

"Pot calling the kettle black, mate."

"And why is it that we hardly get together anymore despite being in the same industry and within a thirty minute drive from each other, but you show up the second Usagi-chan sends out her summons?" the LME president added, accusing in a joking tone.

"Ah, but you know I've always had a sweet spot for my lovely Usagi-chan," Horio answered with flirtatious grin aimed at their female companion.

"Such a flirt, Horio," she smacked her friend on the shoulder playfully, "I'm sure being the president of his top competing entertainment company doesn't help."

"Preposterous!" Horio answered adamantly, "Nothing as insignificant as the rivalry between LME and Akatoki could ever come between this friendship between men! Right, Lory?"

Smiling broadly, Lory replied in agreement, "Of course! Usagi-chan, you have been away too long, you're starting to forget who we are."

"Which is why I especially had to invite you both here today," Usagi confessed. "It is so good to see you both again. Why, the last time the three of us were together like this was at…"

She stopped her sentence abruptly, cursing herself for releasing her brain-to-mouth filter so carelessly.

There was a slight damper on the previous mood, as all parties knew the last time that she meant was at Lory's late wife, Taniya's funeral.

Horio was the first to respond to the change in mood. He hugged his old friend again and said to him, "Behind every great man, is an even greater woman, as they say. We all miss her so much."

Lory allowed himself to be consoled for a few moments, as he reminisced about the love of his life quietly. Then he said in response, "She would have been happy to see us together like this again."

"The only thing that would make her happier, is if the two of you would find someone to share your abundance of love with," the famous Love President began preaching, "Like we did."

"Oh, if only Usagi-chan would respond to my advances," his rival and friend pouted slightly, "Instead she ran away to America and returns five years later to give YOU the privilege of doing her story."

"My heart weeps, my love." He held his hand to his heart in exaggeration as he aimed his pout at the accused heartbreaker.

"I'm so sorry, my dear. Here, let me heal it with my healing touch," she apologized in kind, putting her hand on top of his, before laughing.

She continued smilingly, "To be honest, I had considered an Akatoki and LME joint venture. But I really have been away too long that I didn't know if that would have been a good idea. What with all the new blood."

"And well, LME does have a bigger pool of acting players to pull from," she finished, flashing a brilliant smile at the man who complained.

"Did you see how she just healed my broken heart to drive a knife through it and twist it?" he turned to his friend for support.

"Yes, I did. Usagi-chan, play nice. You did invite us here as special guests, you know," Lory said in a teasingly condescending tone to the woman whom he loved like a sister.

She laughed gaily, "Ok, Boss. Only because you are all special guests and I have to get ready for the rest of them."

"Sebastian, you can place their stuff on the small tables over there," Usagi spoke to seemingly no one in particular and pointing in a direction.

As if appearing out of thin air, Sebastian emerged, carrying the two dishes the two older gentleman brought in for the pot luck, and began to do as he was instructed.

"He is so elusive, I can picture him being a ninja! But he really is a great man to serve as your right-hand, Lory," Horio discussed the quiet man who had so efficiently requested to hold his own dishes as soon as he arrived and who had stayed so invisible during the entire reunion that he forgot he was there until Usagi instructed him.

Lory smiled and nodded.

As Usagi busied herself with checking what the three girls and Sebastian had brought in, Lory told Horio, "Come, friend, let's get ourselves seated as well, and I will introduce you to my three favorite girls."

"The ladies in pink, I presume" Horio asked, walking alongside him. Shaking his head, he added, "Only you, Lory, could have come up with that."

* * *

><p>The LoveMe trio had taken their seats after looking at the other little sheets of paper that told them who else would be coming and where they'd be seated. The total headcount would be twelve.<p>

Kanae and Kyoko were seated next to each other, but Chiori was not, to their regret, but she was only a seat over and across.

The girls observed that the name tags were typically of the character's name, and not their real name, except for a select few. They had found Izumi, Yukino and Sakura's seats and took note of who was sitting where.

Izumi would be seated near the head of the table between Shin and Yukino, who would also be next to Kouta. Sakura was a seat directly across from Kouta, at the other end of the table, and was seated next to Aizawa Hiroshi, her brother for the duration of the story.

Shin got to sit next to Lory (Kyoko was glad she wasn't the one sitting there – she would have been so nervous!), who was opposite a person called Horio. Opposite Izumi herself, was Yukino's father, Sora Mouri, who sat between the Aizawa boy and the evil Yakuza boss. And last but not least, Yashiro's name was found at the other head of the table.

No sooner had they sat down, did their eccentric president start heading towards them with the other gentleman that none of them recognized.

* * *

><p>AN: To my readers who have not already figured it out: Usagi = bunny/rabbit in japanese.

I'm thinking of a scary Yakuza group name, but find myself not liking any of my choices. If anyone has a good suggestion, please let me know. Otherwise, I might end up with something like Red Dragon (Aka Ryuu Gumi), or Red Dog (Aka Inu Gumi), or Shirogumi (no meaning that I know of!).

As usual, thank you for reading and reviewing. I'd love to hear what people are predicting and feeling with my story.

Special shout out to Ebzenka for giving me a lot to think about regarding similar stories of this type. I hope my story continues to hold your interest and meet the grade.

Next up, more people arrive at the meeting, more cast revelations, and… *rubs her hands together gleefully*

-Evil Me


	17. Chapter 17

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 17 - Arrivals

A/N: Firnlambe - I dedicated myself to updating ASAP just because you asked

* * *

><p>"Girls, I'd like you to meet one of my oldest friends, Akatoki Horio."<p>

"As you may have guessed from his name, he is the owner and president of Akatoki Agency," the President continued.

Kyoko had to mask her shock. She did not expect Sacchou-san to be friends with 'the enemy', as she would have put it.

Kanae knew exactly how friends could be rivals and only took in the info as confirmation that the man wasn't casted as Kouta, with or without special effects.

All three girls quickly got up from their seats and bowed to him in greeting.

"Amamiya Chiori is our newest member of the LoveMe group, though she is actually hired under the Soft Hat agency. She will be playing Sakura for this series," the President said, indicating the shorter dark haired girl.

"Hmmm… Scarlet Dice?" Horio asked the girl, inquisitively.

Surprised to have been recognized so easily, she responded a little warily, "Yes, when I was much younger."

"I have a good eye," the older man answered the unspoken question with a wink.

"Kotonami Kanae is our Yukino," the President continued.

"Pleasure to meet you, sir," she said respectfully.

"The pleasure is all mine, my lady. I recognize you from your filming with the Uesugi Hio." Horio bowed a westernly bow to the raven haired beauty, eliciting a smile from her that she was recognized by a big figure in the entertainment industry.

"And last but not least, our Izumi will be played by…" the President was interrupted by Horio who finished his sentence for him while bowing exaggeratedly to her, "Mogami Kyoko".

Lory raised an eyebrow at his number one LoveMe girl being known to his friend. Kyoko, on the other hand, was busy trying to recall if she recently did anything to 'the enemy' that may have gotten his attention.

Answering Lory's raised eyebrow, he explained, "You worked with one of my talents on his PV a while back. You did a fabulous job, I must say."

Horio knew all about this girl who was childhood friends with Japan's number one musician from his agency. Shoko-san's reports were always detailed and honest, and had included a bountiful of information on his rising star. Including his connection to this angel turned devil young lady when they were younger, and her progress since his careless musician had shunned her.

When he had heard the story from Shoko-san, he had been half tempted to do something for the young girl that was cast aside despite all her efforts to help the foolish boy-star. But then word got out that she had ended up in LME, and Horio knew she was in the good hands of his old friend. So, he did not get involved any more than just keeping tabs on her.

Seeing as his dear friend did not seem to know why he knew this information, he gave him a look that said he'd tell him about it later, and received a nod of assent from the green and brown clad man.

"And look, more of our stars are just arriving!" Lory announced, his vision aimed at the entrance to the clearing, where Ren and his manager had just entered, carrying three box high bento boxes each.

Almost immediately following, a cry was heard from the direction of the smaller picnic tables, "Oh! Just look at these adorable apples!"

"Kyoko-chan!" Usagi waved at her from her position by the small table, "These are yours, aren't they?"

Kyoko headed over to her so she didn't need to yell any more, bowing respectfully to the rest of her company before leaving. Looking at the sliced apples that she had decorated to look like little rabbits that had caught her director's eye, she nodded and admitted that they were hers.

"I also brought some sandwiches, since I wasn't sure what kind of food everyone liked," she added, pointing to the platter of finger sandwiches with different fillings in them.

"They look delicious, Mogami-san," said a voice from above and behind her. Kyoko whirled around to find her sempai, still carrying his boxes.

She quickly offered to help him with his load, which he politely declined as he stepped to the side of her, and placed his containers of restaurant-packed sushi on the small picnic table.

"Good afternoon, Director Takamura-san," he greeted the smaller lady at the table.

"Good afternoon to you too, Ren-san," the director answered with a sparkle in her eye. The tiny spark of something, she wasn't sure what yet, between two of her main stars, was not missed by her keen eyes. She made a mental resolution to observe their behavior more.

"Kyoko-chan!" came another voice from the entrance. She turned towards the familiar voice.

"Hikaru-sempai!" she replied, surprised to see the oldest member of Bridge Rock. She looked behind and around him as he walked up to her, expecting to see the other two members.

"Are Yuusei-sempai and Shinichi-sempai coming, too?" she asked curiously.

"Nope," he happily proclaimed, "I was the only one that got the invitation, even though they will be on the show too."

"That's great! All three of you will be on Rhapsody, too! I didn't know!" Kyoko exclaimed excitedly at the news.

Suddenly remembering that Tsuruga-san was behind her, she turned her attention back to the tall man and began apologizing for her rudeness, "I'm so sorry, Tsuruga-san! I am such an ungrateful kouhai, please let me introduce you."

Hikaru stood, eyes widened, as he took in the man behind the girl he had a crush on. _It is THE Tsuruga Ren! He's taller in person!_ he thought, both amazed and regretful at the fact.

Kyoko rose from her apology when she didn't sense any anger from her sempai and said evasively, "Tsuruga-san, this is Ishibashi Hikaru. I uh… do some LoveMe work with him and Bridge Rock."

As she finished her sentence, the anger she didn't sense earlier suddenly appeared, giving her a shock. Afraid that he had caught on to her evasion and put together that she was Bo, she affixed her eyes to his face as he politely greeted the man he was just introduced to, to find some kind of sign that her cover was blown.

Behind his gentlemanly smile, Ren was checking and double checking his control on his anger when he realized that 'Hikaru' was this man's first name, and not his family name as he had initially thought when she called for him.

Unaware of the underlying currents transpiring around him, Hikaru said excitedly, "I am looking forward to working with you, Tsuruga-san! And you too, Kyoko-chan!"

Usagi, on the other hand, did notice the appearance of the well-hidden little green monster, and her eyes widened as she put two and two together. She hid a smile as she formulated a little twist for the filming ahead.

Yashiro, who had been quiet since he got there, partially due to shock at everything in the room since entering, from the decoration to the … uniquely dressed director, to a glimpse of the equally… uniquely dressed President of LME seated at the long table, and also because he was trying to stay unnoticed to monitor the progress – or lack thereof- of his charge's relationship with the number one LoveMe member. He concluded by the looks of how Ren had politely greeted the shorter man who had called Kyoko so familiarly, that nothing worth mentioning had happened a couple days ago when Ren had mysteriously asked him to reschedule everything in the morning without much notice.

The hopeful manager sighed to himself.

"Oh, Kyoko-chan," Hikaru continued excitedly, "If you were surprised to see me on this show, you should see who else is coming! Look, he just walked in!"

As soon as Kyoko saw who it was, she turned into a statue. She felt a sickening dread in the pit of her stomach, the result of the anger waves she was detecting from the sempai she had hidden her alternate identity from, and the realization that the producer of TBM studio's Kimagure Rock was here. How can she still hide her identity as Bo?

"Sanada producer-san!" Hikaru beckoned to the new comer, "Over here!"

His stern face in place, he walked over to the table where several familiar faces were found. Reaching them, he said, professionally, "Good afternoon, Director Takamura, Tsuruga-san."

"I am Sanada Iori, and I will be playing Sora Mouri. I look forward to working with all of you. Please take care of me."

Then, turning to Hikaru and Kyoko, he said gruffly, "You too, Hikaru and B-"

"OH WOW, PRODUCER-SAN!" Kyoko interrupted him quickly and rather loudly, "You are playing Yukino's father! I look forward to working with you too!"

Surprised at her loud outburst, he only nodded in response. Bowing to the others to excuse himself, he was about to move over to the other table to put down his wife's homemade dumplings on one of the neighboring picnic tables since this one was full, when Kyoko hurriedly offered to help him, all the while chattering to him at a mile a minute about random topics as she deftly removed the container from him before he could object or say otherwise.

Though she chatted up a storm and looked as though nothing was out of the ordinary, her inner self was in turmoil.

_What am I doing? I am sounding so familiar with the producer, I am going to get yelled by him later. But I can't let him say that I am Bo while Tsuruga-san is there! What if Tsuruga-san already heard him? What if Tsuruga-san knew I wasn't being entirely truthful when I said it was LoveMe work that made me work with Hikaru-sempai? OH NO! How will I explain why I am so close to the producer? What do I do? Moko-san, save me!_

Shivering at a sudden chill down her spine, Kanae looked around herself for anything wierd before shrugging it off and returning her attention to the stories that Akatoki-san and the President were sharing about past series and shows.

* * *

><p>Hikaru looked at Kyoko's back as she went with the producer and wondered out loud, "I didn't know Kyoko-chan and Sanada-producer were so close."<p>

Hearing Hikaru's confusion helped Ren calm down from his own. Yashiro, however, was not so easily appeased.

"Yes, I wonder how Kyoko-chan knows him so well," the manager puzzled.

If Kyoko was present, she would have been surprised that help came from an unexpected source.

"Oh, I'm sure it must have been some more of that LoveMe work that she must get," Usagi chimed in, sensing that there were some really fun things to be unraveled with this series.

"We're only short two more people, why don't we have a seat for now? Gentlemen?" the director closed the topic and ushered them towards the long table.

It was not long after they were seated that Kyoko and Iori came to join up at the long table as well. Greetings and introductions were underway once more for those that had not met yet.

Only a few minutes transpired before the last of the invitees made it. The two relatively well known handsome men rushed in together and one exclaimed to the other when he noticed everyone already seated at the table.

"Wah! We seem to be the latest, Kijima!"

" I don't know about you, Shingai Director. But I have a very good reason for being late," the handsome actor replied with a smirk.

* * *

><p>AN2: So I drafted the seating chart to get a visual, and 'drew' it out - sorry it was the best I could do! (It wouldn't paste right :( and kept deleting the lines i made)

Thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated! - Mimi

* * *

><p>Seating Chart Visual<p>

...-...-...-...**Lory**...-...**Shin**...-...**Izumi**...-...-**Yukino**-...-...**Kouta**...-...-...-...

...-...-...-...-.**O**.-...-...-.**O**.-...-...-.**O**.-...-...-...-...**O**...-...-...-...-**O**-...-...-...-...-

**Usagi**..**O**...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-..-...-**O**-...**Yashiro**

...-...-...-...-.**O**.-...-...-.**O**.-...-...-.**O**.-...-...-...-...**O**...-...-...-...-**O**-...-...-...-...-

...-...-...-..**Horio**...**Shirogumi**...**Mouri**...-..**Hiroshi**..-...-**Sakura**-...-...-...-...

...-...-...-...-...-...-...-**Boss**-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...


	18. Chapter 18

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 18 – End of the Party

* * *

><p>"I left the plate in the fridge when I left the first time," the good looking director said as he placed his fruit platter on the side tables he figured were for the food, "Is that a good enough excuse?"<p>

"Mine's still better," the almost top actor of Japan argued, "My nephews ate what I had prepared, and I had to run to the store to get store-bought replacements instead." (A/N: This sounded suspiciously like a 'my dog ate my homework excuse', but it's legit, I promise!)

"Alright, you win," Seiji said easily, raising his hands in surrender, "This looks like my seat."

"Good afternoon, Akatoki-san," he greeted the president of the rivaling company pleasantly as he sat down at his nameplate, "Thank you for raising such amazing talents that I have been able to fully utilize in my last movie."

"Congratulations on the completion of filming for Ringdoh 2, Seiji," was his returned response, "I look forward to watching the final product."

Hidehito was the last to get to his seat, after putting away his store bought assorted flavored mochi ice cream compactly on the table around the packs of ice he'd had the foresight of bringing to reduce melting.

He found the only empty seat in the corner next to a striking dark haired lady, whose pink attire did not faze him from noticing her beauty. He was dumb founded that he'd never seen her before, and was determined to get to know her better. But for now, he started with a smile and an easy "Hello."

She looked right into his eyes with her own dark silver ones, making his heart make a sudden loud thump in his chest.

"Hello," she returned.

_Woah, what was that?_ Hidehito thought, masking any outward reaction quickly by greeting the others at his end of the table – Ren's manager, Yashiro-san, another dark haired pink jump-suited girl, and a young looking boy who looked familiar, but who tries to remember guys anyway.

They all politely returned his greetings before returning their attention to the head, where Director Takamura Usagi had just stood up from her seat. Everyone listened attentively as the furry-dressed woman started speaking, her voice clear and crisp, through to the other end of the table.

"Thank you all for coming today, and for all the delicious food that everyone has brought," she said, beaming widely.

"The main purpose for this little party was to let all of you meet each other. Everyone here will be an important driving force in the production of Rhapsody. So to start, I'll go around the table introducing everyone, for those who did not get a chance to do so already."

"Your President, Robin Hood," she joked, starting with Lory, "He has been the person primarily in charge of casting, as he knows all of you the best. I have very high expectations for everyone, but have no doubt or questions in any of his choices."

"Tsuruga Ren as Tsubaki Shin. Mogami Kyoko as Ishiyama Izumi. Kotonami Kanae as Sora Yukino. Kijima Hidehito as Heiji Kouta, " she continued down the table.

Skipping Yashiro entirely, she continued with the cast, "Amamiya Chiori as Aizawa Sakura. Ishibashi Hikaru as Aizawa Hiroshi. Sanada Iori as Sora Mouri. And last but not least, Shingai Seiji as the Shirogumi boss," she finished.

"At the end of the table, we have Ren-san's manager, who will have an important role as well. Not on screen, but behind it. I will get to that part later," she said, watching the bespectacled man's eyes widen nervously.

"And to my right, President of Akatoki Agency, Akatoki Horio. Although he is not part of LME, he will play an integral part of this LME series as my co-director and producer. His eyes and ears for talent and music are second to none, and will be helpful to balance my direction of the story."

She paused for a moment before continuing, "All of you have read the Rhapsody story, and I apologize that it was not more script-like. Very few lines are set in stone, and though there is a defined plot line, the story has room to grow and change depending on how each of the actors and actresses create their character."

"The story itself was inspired by several short stories written by one of the best women I have ever known. They were written before she got married, after which she pursued the interest of her love – sharing love through the entertainment industry."

"Takarada Taniya never thought of elaborating them further to be published, or to do as I will be doing, so enthused she was in her life with her wonderful man to raise this industry topping company," she said, looking directly at the man she was referring to with a wistful smile.

Her smile shrunk a little as she continued, "A stroke in her sleep took the angel we knew away from us and left her comatose for two short months before…"

She didn't need to finish the sentence. Though most of their guests had never met their eccentric President's late wife, they shared in the grief of the three that loved her the most seated around the head of the table.

"In her last week, I had found the notebook with these short stories in it," Usagi sustained her narrative, "And I knew that I had to do something with them when I felt the only reaction she was able to give us after I had finished reading the last one to her."

"So I took a hiatus from directing to pursue inspirations for my task. And have now returned with the combined story now known as Rhapsody."

With a determined look and tone in her voice, she declared, "I expect to challenge and extract a lot from each of you during the filming of this series."

"The final scripts will be distributed a week from today, and filming will start in 2 weeks," she added in a all seriousness of the topic of work, earning a few widened eyes from her audience.

"And finally, I have something mostly directed to Kyoko-chan and Kanae-chan." Usagi turned to the two girls, who sat up straighter at the attention, "Since neither of you have managers, I have received permission from Lory to assign temporary managers for you for the duration of the filming."

"Yashiro-san, we leave Kyoko-chan in your care," the director stated, bowing politely yet her choice of words and tone of voice did not indicate any choice in the matter.

Not that she would have gotten any objections. The four eyed manager inwardly smirked and the chibi horned Yashiro on his left shoulder rubbed its hands in glee at the thought of being in charge of the two love birds. He'll get those two together by the end of the filming if he has to drug them or lock them in a coat closet! Maybe both!

But outwardly, he nodded his assent to the lady director. Ren saw the suspicious glint in Yashiro's eyes and wasn't sure if he should be overjoyed or afraid of this new development.

"Kijima-san," the matriarch of the series turned her attention to the handsome actor, "Fuyuki-chan already knows this, but for your information, she will be taking care of Kanae-chan."

At Kanae's raised eyebrow at the directive, Hidehito answered, "Fuyuki is my manager and sister, Kanae-chan."

"We both look forward to working with you more closely in the coming weeks," he added, flirtatiously ignoring the cold glare at the familiar use of her name.

Another man would have shuddered at the icy nod she gave him, but Kijima Hidehito was a stronger man than that to be deterred so easily by a gorgeous woman.

"So, with all the serious business out of the way, let's get the party started! Please help yourselves to the food everyone has brought!" the cheerful singsong voice of lady director exclaimed.

* * *

><p>Kyoko bowed deeply to her sempai beside her as soon as she got up, and expressed her eagerness to work with him in the coming series, despite the nerves she had been curbing at the pressure of it all.<p>

Since she did not sense any more anger from him, she decided that she had successfully averted disaster with the whole Sanada-producer thing. When she noticed that he did not appear to be trying to get up to get some food, she politely suggested that they go get some food together, so he could not try to get away with not eating lunch.

Understanding that her request was not out of wanting to spend more time with him, but rather just trying to make sure he ate, Ren smiled his usual gentlemanly smile and agreed.

Hikaru, who did not realize the hidden meaning behind his crush's request to the taller more handsome man, sighed softly as he watched them walk away together to the smaller tables. As he got up to get some food himself, he politely invited the cute girl next to him to join him, as was his friendly nature.

Chiori was grateful for the invitation since she was feeling a little out of place and did not know what she should be doing, since Kyoko-san was occupied with Tsuruga-san and the other LoveMe member seemed busy herself, unable to escape being pulled into polite conversation with both Shingai-san and Kijima-san who were familiarly discussing work.

Iori quietly trailed after the others, his open eyes and ears just watching and listening.

Eventually, everyone had gotten up to get some food and returned to the table, and soon, different topics were being raised at the different parts of the table over the munching of the bountiful selection of food that the group had contributed to supplying before they merged into the happy bantering over random things that included everyone.

"How come, Shingai-director's name plate doesn't have his character's name?" Hidehito brought up.

"Please drop the director suffix to my name, will you, Hidehito? I'm going to be an actor this time, just like you, remember? And by the way, it's because my character doesn't have a name yet," Seiji answered matter of factly.

Usagi looked sheepish as she followed up with an explanation, "It had always been 'Shirogumi boss' or 'the yakuza boss' and he just didn't have a name. But Shingai-san, feel free to pick yourself a name, if you want."

"Then how about, Shiro Seiji," he joked, "That way my name would appear twice in the credits!"

Laughter ensued at his humor.

The party was coming to a close and Lory decided to say a couple things before adjourning.

"Everyone, I hope you had a good lunch and had fun meeting the people we will be working with on this series," he started, gaining the attention of the table.

"Actors and actresses, new and old, in the coming weeks, I am certain that everyone in this lot will grow and learn more about themselves and the others in the company that make up this big family. I truly believe that we can make this series a hit, despite the several handicaps put in place to make things more challenging and interesting."

"So go forth, my children! And live to your heart's desire!" He exclaimed exaggeratedly.

Spontaneously, loud familiar music began playing, the earlier men in tights appeared from behind the trees to trail their leader out.

The shocked expressions on some of the guests that had not seen Lory's entrance made Horio laugh heartily.

"I believe Lory still has you beat on exits, Usagi-chan."

* * *

><p>AN: Thanks to everyone who has been reading and keeping up with my story. Special thanks (the ones with glitter and little kitty kisses) to those that reviewed.

I feel that my plot line seems to move very slow, I am seriously contemplating redo'ing a lot of it after it is complete, to merge certain chapters and actually come up with smarter chapter names. But for now, the story must come out, in whatever form it ends up in.

I'm still deciding what part comes next, or what gets skipped. Rhapsody's story, Ren in Shin's look appearance, a Bo appearance, Sho side story, other chars side story (not revealing!), Kyoko and Taki encounter, to name the few. *headache* Ok time to eat some mochi ice cream despite being 2am. Yummmm.


	19. Chapter 19

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 19 – Meetings and Appointments

* * *

><p>Throughout the semi-cast party, Iori had kept to himself. But he didn't mind. It gave him the advantage of observing the real actors and actresses when they weren't acting. He was also glad that he wasn't the only non-actor cast at the lunch. <em>Director Shingai still has more experience with the acting world though<em>, he begrudgingly compared.

He recalled the day's events as he headed to his next appointment.

The quiet request that Kyoko had asked of him after he'd been practically-dragged away by the strangely (and rather fakely, in his honest opinion) enthusiastic short haired girl had alarmed him at first.

_Please, Sanada-producer, please don't tell anyone that I am Bo. Please, it is a matter of life and death_, she had pleaded to him.

_Life and death_,_ huh, _he thought. He'd had a hunch that it wasn't quite as drastic as that, but the girl seemed to believe so, and reeked of desperation to keep that identity a secret, that at the time he could only nod.

And thus, his curiosity had been piqued, and it actually helped him forget his anxiety over being part of this series of the foreign shade. So, it was not surprising that he found himself monitoring the person-behind-the-chicken and the very popular tall man that seemed to pay special attention to the girl. They seemed closer than a regular kouhai and sempai would be, and yet there were no hints of inappropriate behavior or anything more than a professional relationship between the two.

How Yashiro had been trying so hard to catch what went on between the two that were placed at the opposite end of the table from him also told him that there had to be something more behind their interaction. Despite knowing Ren's reputation to be spotless, Iori did consciously think to himself that the young adult better not have any ill intentions towards her.

It was the fatherly thought that had him switching his focus to the other LoveMe girl who would be playing his daughter during the series. And with the same mindset, his eyes narrowed as it appeared that the reputed playboy actor had his eyes on her.

His frown deepened as he mentally refocused his thoughts. He must be thinking about his character too much that the thoughts are carrying through to his normal self.

He wondered if any other actors felt like this.

* * *

><p><em>The next day<em>

Kyoko headed back to the LoveMe locker room from completing her afternoon LoveMe assignment for some head of some department who needed some filing of some documents done.

She caught a glimpse of the taller dark haired girl in identical uniform who just entered the locker room and prepared to launch her best-friend-hug-missile. But the launch was aborted as soon as Kyoko charged through the door when the phone in her pants pocket rang and jarred her to its attention (much to the very surprised Kanae's relief).

She closed the door behind her while taking the phone out. She read the caller id and looked puzzled as she answered the phone, "Moshi moshi, Yashiro-san. Is everything alright?"

"Ah, Kyoko-chan, can you come to my office when you are done with your assignments for the day?"

"Yes, of course, I just finished. I will be right over after I change," she answered, still confused since she wasn't sure what Yashiro-san would want with her.

"What was that about?" Kanae asked her after she hung up the call.

"I have to go to Yashiro-san's office after I change," came the simple response.

A vein threatened to pop from the side of Kanae's forehead. "I meant, what did he want to see you about?"

"Oh, I don't know, I didn't ask. Maybe it has something to do with him being my temporary manager," Kyoko replied as she finished up changing.

"Have you met your new manager already?" she asked Kanae in return.

"No, not yet. We've arranged to meet tomorrow evening though," Kanae answered, putting her own jumpsuit into the locker.

"I can't imagine what Kijima-san's sister would be like," Kyoko pondered out loud.

"She's used to be a magazine model before she got married and started a family," Kanae said with non-chalance, "Then she put herself up to be a manager to spend more time with her family, and ended up getting assigned to her brother."

"If we can believe anything the brother says on the matter, that is. I think she's pretty unlucky to be unable to get away from family, even at work," she finished with a shrug, closing her locker door and just now noticing that Kyoko seemed to be waiting on her for something, "What is it?"

"Nothing really…" Kyoko started quietly.

"Mo! Spit it out so I can leave already," The bulging vein appeared again.

"Hai! Can you help me practice my character tomorrow?" Kyoko said really quickly.

"Hah?"

"I mean, I was thinking it could be an acting exercise for us," Kyoko continued, "If you were acting as Yukino, I could try to act like male Izumi and try to figure out more about my character."

The thought of acting without a script against her number one rival drove adrenaline through Kanae's blood.

Kyoko's eyes started to lose their sparkle when she started thinking that Kanae's silence meant that she didn't want to waste her time on such a silly request. Kyoko was about to break down into a dogeza to apologize for possibly insinuating that Kanae would ever need practice with a character when Kanae gave her an unexpectedly opposite response, "Okay, let's do it."

"Really, Moko-san?" Kyoko almost shouted in her excitement. "We can go shopping together as our characters! It'll almost be like a date then! Oh! I didn't mean that it would be a date! Not that I wouldn't want to date you if were a real guy. Ah! I'm not saying that we should date, I mean we're both girls and…"

"MO! I get it already!" Kanae interrupted the excitedly flustered the girl from her nonsensical rambling, "Aren't you supposed to meet your new manager?"

"Ah yes, Yashiro-san must have been waiting for me for a while now, I better go," Kyoko said, gathering her things and relaunching the previously aborted missile. The target was surprised since the actions did not match the words that were just spoken and did not manage to avoid the attack. Luckily, it did not last very long and Kyoko happily ended the hug and went on her way, leaving Kanae rubbing her arms and muttering under her breath about inhuman strength and pincer gripped bear hugs.

* * *

><p><em>Knock, knock, knock<em>

"Come in," Yashiro invited.

Kyoko opened the door to his office slowly, and immediately apologized for making him wait for so long from the doorway. Yashiro waved away the apology and asked her to have a seat, finishing up his scheduling scribbles on his notepad.

As she stepped into the familiar office, she recalled the last time she was here. The memory spawned the little grudge that became victim to her fellow grudges' punishments because of the man seated behind the desk.

_It is ALL YOUR FAULT!_ The little grudge squeaked accusingly to the bespectacled man that could not see it, before bursting into tears and disappearing.

Eyes narrowed, Kyoko muttered to herself softly about people learning how to enjoy bullying her from the smiling-faced actor.

"What was that, Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro asked, looking up from his notes.

"Nothing, Yashiro-san," she answered innocently as she sat in one of the guest chairs in the room, "What did you need to see me about?"

"I wanted to get some information about your schedule from you," he started, "Sawara-san gave me a chart with your tentative scheduling for the next month and I wanted to start figuring out if I needed to move anything around."

"Why would you need to move anything around?" Kyoko asked, curiously.

"Well, since I am managing both you and Ren for a while, I wanted to try and schedule things so there would be a more efficient flow for both of your jobs. That way, I can be a better manager for you too, instead of just for Ren," he explained.

_And so I can find more chances for Ren to spend some time with you while I disappear and do 'manager stuff', _the inner Yashiro grinned widely.

"That makes sense," Kyoko said.

"Yes, so getting right down to it," Yashiro said eagerly, looking down at his notes, "I wanted to ask what this slot called 'Kimagure Rock' was about."

There was a small cracking sound, and Yashiro looked up to see a frozen Kyoko, face aghast.

"Kyoko-chan? Are you okay?" he asked, worriedly.

* * *

><p><em>EMERGENCY MEETING! Head grudges report to the main brain! REPEAT! Calling all head grudges for an EMERGENCY MEETING!<em>

The grudges sat around the brain table and began discussing the latest threat to their master's life.

Grudge 1: "Feign ignorance! She doesn't know what Kimagure Rock could be!"

Grudge 2: "That's dumb. It is HER schedule, of course she has to know what it is! I say tell him a half truth – that it is a regular LoveMe assignment where she works at the TBM studio helping out with the Kimagure Rock show."

Grudge 3: "What if that Sawara Takenori dude let slip who she is helping as? What if glasses guy already knows? What if he is just testing her?"

Grudge 2: "He doesn't know what it would mean anyway. There's nothing special about playing a mascot chicken."

Grudge 1: "That's worse! He'd accidentally say something that he doesn't think is important to the Dark Lord and then we're doomed!"

Grudge 4: "Why don't we make glasses guy an accomplice?"

A brief silence surrounds the brain table.

Grudge 2: "Explain."

Grudge 4: "Well, he's going to be her manager, and is bound to find out one way or another. Tell him up front and make him promise to keep the secret."

Grudge 3: "Yes… then if he accidentally lets slip that he knows about something that should only have been between the chicken and the Dark Lord…"

Grudge 1: (Joyfully) "He's as good as dead as we are!"

Silence fills the brain again.

Grudge 2: "It's our best bet. Good luck, master."

* * *

><p>After a few moments of stillness, Yashiro saw her blink.<p>

"Kyoko-chan?"

"Yashiro-san, I will tell you what you want to know, but I need you to promise that you absolutely will not, under any circumstance let Tsuruga-san know," Kyoko answered quietly, a soft tremble in her voice.

_Uh oh. What can't she let Ren know? Is it something to do with the bastard musician? (_Half right, glasses guy, oh wait grudges can't read just anyone's thoughts, cancel that.)

_Do I really want to know this dangerous secret that could get me in really hot water with Ren? Yes, I do because he always makes it difficult for me to find out information from him, so I'll just get it from Kyoko-chan and make the best out of it for the love-idiot,_ inner Yashiro pouted and made his decision.

"I understand," he said solemnly, "What is it?"

"I am part of the Kimagure Rock cast, along with Bridge Rock," Kyoko finally said even more quietly. "I am Bo the Chicken."

Unsure why she seemed to be expecting a reaction out of that revelation, he prodded, "Alright… what is wrong with being Bo the Chicken that you cannot let Ren know?"

She seemed to shrink a little bit along with her voice, "I pretended to be an anonymous person and scolded him from under the chicken head."

Yashiro's eyes widened, but sensed that she was not done and remained quiet.

"I nearly got fired after the first episode because I was too wrapped up in my revenge," she shrunk a bit more.

"And I, a newbie and lowly kohai, actually tried to give him, the great number one actor Tsuruga Ren, ACTING ADVICE!" her voice suddenly became much louder as she began pleading to her new manager.

"Please Yashiro-san, you cannot tell him, or he will fillet me with his words like a piece of sashimi, while stabs me to death with the beams from his... his smile!"

"Kyoko-chan, calm down. I understand," Yashiro got partially out of his chair to reach for her and get her to sit back down, since she was trying to climb on the desk to beg him.

He actually didn't understand though. The girl never ceased to surprise him with her eccentric thought patterns and antics. While he thought that the revenge part may have irked his charge, he highly doubted that the rest of the charges would have had a lasting effect. But he would maintain his side of the bargain and keep her identity as Bo a secret.

"Don't worry, Kyoko-chan. I won't tell him," Yashiro said.

_For now, at least._

It's not like there's anything to gain from spilling it. Yashiro felt only a tiny ounce of guilt at not actually promising anything since all he said was that he understood.

She sighed a breath of relief.

"Anyway, moving on to the next item," he changed the topic quickly, "I see you've already scheduled your music lessons, but you haven't gotten anything set-up for the fighting scenes."

He pretended to be thinking seriously about something for a short moment and then said, "Here's what we can do for that. There will be some time slots where both you and Ren will be available, and we can have him coach you for the fight scenes."

Kyoko objected vehemently, "No! He is already so busy! I cannot trouble him with having to teach me for my own character!"

Yashiro was prepared for that response, "Kyoko-chan, even you agree that he is already so busy. Imagine that he will be even busier if he doesn't coach you, since he would have to find the time to take lessons according to some instructor's schedule."

He let her think about that for a second before continuing, "Ren has taken some training on the matter already, for his police role in_Crime and Affairs_. So coaching you would be a refresher for him as well as a lesson for you."

Kyoko considered the reason in Yashiro's explanation, and agreed.

"And you can also make sure he eats while you're at it. If you don't take the lessons from him, I'm sure he'll skip meals even right before a strenuous physical training session."

Kyoko bowed sincerely to the manager and said, "I am sorry to have to trouble you to schedule our times then. I will do everything I can to make sure he will not be busier because of me."

Inner Yashiro pumped his fist in the air.

"That was it for today. I will probably call you again in a day or so. I'm still going over some of the other information that Sawara-san provided me on your file."

She got up from the chair and bowed deeply, "Thank you, Yashiro-san. I already know how hard you must work since I was your replacement when you got sick. Now, you also have to take care of a newbie. I am very grateful for your guidance."

Yashiro smiled and answered honestly, "It is really no problem at all. I am more than happy to take on this task."

Inner Yashiro smiled too. A mischievous grin as he rubbed his hands in glee.

* * *

><p>AN: I can't get nice long writing sessions in, and I'm sorry for the long delay between updating. Thanks to everyone for your patience with my story. Since this story moves so slowly, I ended up writing another one shot to get a writing itch out. Reviews very much appreciated!


	20. Chapter 20

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 20 – Practice Part 1

After patting down the insert in the light brown loafers, Kyoko slipped into her new shoes and looked at her reflection in the dresser mirror. She nodded in approval at what she saw, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She walked out of her room as Kei.

Downstairs, the okami and taichou of the restaurant were preparing for the lunch rush. Fujiko turned from wiping down one of the tables at the sound of footsteps going from wood to granite, a greeting ready at her tongue to bid the young lady housing with them. But instead of the greeting, she gasped when she saw who just walked down from the teenage girl's room. Her gasp alerted her husband to look up from slicing the fresh salmon on his chopping board. His eyes narrowed at the appearance of the young teenaged looking boy.

He wore a white buttoned shirt with a short black diagonal stripe on each side of the buttons that hung untucked over a pair of dark jeans. From his back pocket, the silver chain of links that was attached to his wallet could be seen dangling and hooked on to one of the belt hoops. His orange dyed hair was combed up tidily, while leaving a few strands to fall over his forehead. And he stood with the confidence of a man who knew he drew eyes to him.

"Why are you dressed like a boy?" Tanaka said curtly following his assessment of the figure in his line of vision.

Kei bowed with his hands on his side, instead of clasped in front of him as a woman would have, and answered politely, "I have an appointment with Kanae-san today. We are practicing our roles for the upcoming filming."

Fujiko thought curiously about what kind of role would have the young girl cross dress so… convincingly!

"Don't stay out too late. Even though you look like that, you are still really a girl," the taichou responded, turning his attention back to his sashimi preparations.

Fujiko noticed a small change in the light in 'his' eyes, as he answered, "Hai, taichou."

Turning to the okami, Kei bowed again and said the customary sentence as one is leaving, "Ittekimasu."

She answered with a gentle smile, "Itterasshai."

-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -

After she unclasped the bicycle lock and retrieved her bike, Kyoko stood by her trusted mode of transportation for a moment to capture the feeling of her character in the moment that the taichou reminded her that she was a still a girl.

_Izumi lives as a boy, but she is really a girl. The only ones who share her secret are the Sora father and daughter pair. She doesn't have the luxury of being reminded that she is a girl, and has to become as strong as, or stronger than, a real boy._ Kyoko repeated the facts of her character to herself.

_She cannot let herself be exposed, and she cannot let herself be weak. To protect herself and Yukino, she has to forget that she is a girl. Rarely does she let herself be reminded that she is a girl._

_No matter how strong she is or how much she acts strong, it is still a nice feeling, _Kyoko thought, _That someone worries about the real her._

Kei's acting spirit returned, she mounts up and rides to pick up her best friend.

-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -

"Ah, you're here already," Kanae said in a frustrated tone.

"Of course, Kanae-san. I would not want to keep you waiting."

Kanae raised an eye brow at not being called Moko-san, but realized right away that Kyoko was already in her character. Feeling like she lost for not thinking to answer the door as her own character, Kanae replied hastily, "Let me get my purse and I'll be right out," and turned to leave the cross dressed girl at the door.

Kyoko was about to walk right in and make herself comfortable while waiting when she heard Kanae call out, "By the way, the 'scene' doesn't start until we leave the house, so drop the act for now, okay?"

At those words, Kyoko let herself return to normal, and looked consciously at the small cramped room that made up Kanae's household's living room. Not sure whether or not it would be presumptuous to let herself in, (though Kei seemed to think otherwise) she remained nervously waiting at the door.

"Eh, is that you, Kyoko-chan?" came a familiar voice that she'd only heard on one other occasion, and the light haired lady's head peeked out from one of the back rooms.

"Sachi-oneesan, good afternoon," Kyoko greeted the Kotonami family's eldest daughter.

"Why are you dressed like that? If I hadn't forced Kanae to tell me where she was going today, I wouldn't have known it was you! You look like a bishounen! And my, have you grown a bit taller recently?" Sachi chattered amiably to her little sister's 'first friend'.

"Ah yes," Kyoko answered sheepishly, "My role that we are practicing for requires it. My character is a girl who has to live as a boy, and her boy-self is princely and is very protective of the character Moko-san will be playing. The height is thanks to some inserts in my shoes."

Sachi knew little about her younger sister's job with acting, but had gathered that Kanae had landed a big one this time, since she'd accidently seen Kanae reading the same script more than once, and at a slower pace than her normal speed reading. That and overhearing some phone conversations through thin walls with this same girl. Following the sad realization that Kanae really doesn't tell her anything, Sachi's eyes lit up at a wonderful idea born from the simple description Kyoko had just given her. "Wait here one moment, Kyoko-chan, I'll be right back!" And she dashed into her room in the back.

A few moments later, Sachi returned with a paper bag that contained what appeared to be books. She thrust the bag into Kyoko's unsuspecting hands saying, "Here, take this! It may be useful for your research!"

Looking into the bag in her hands, Kyoko noticed several manga volumes of a manga called "Knight of Flower".

"It is a story about a girl that has to live as a guy as well, to protect her most important friend in place of her brother. She ends up becoming the First Knight, and has a very prince-like feeling as well! Maybe you will find it useful?" Sachi explained.

A loud bellow came from the direction of the kitchen entrance, "MO! Sachi-oneesan, what do you think you are doing? Did you waste money buying more manga again?"

In the midst of the accusing questions, Kyoko noticed that her best friend had changed from pants to a pretty flower patterned sleeveless dress that hugged the upper part of her body and let into a smooth flowing skirt. But she could tell that commenting on how she looked was probably not a good idea at this time.

Guiltily, Sachi looked at her younger sister, and replied, "But it may be useful, after all, right Kyoko-chan?" She looked pleadingly at Kyoko.

Before the poor girl could say anything to try to diffuse the situation, Kanae walked up to Kyoko and removed the bag from her grasp, deftly placing it beside the door while yelling at her irresponsible sister, "Don't drag someone else into your problem! And what do you think she's going to do, carry it the entire time we go out? Did you think she should be toting that bag around everywhere? It's not like we have a car!"

Left with little choice now that the culprit bag had been taken care of, Kyoko looked at Sachi sympathetically and said, "Sorry, Sachi-oneesan, she's right, I can't carry around the bag everywhere today while we are practicing."

At the downcast look that was returned, Kyoko quickly added, "But maybe you can still lend them to me later when we get back?"

Brightened up, Sachi replied, "Yes! That would be just fine, I'll just leave the bag over here and you can pick it up later! I hope it will be useful for you!"

Knowing that her dear friend was shooting daggers at her with her eyes, Kyoko's grudges started reacting, but she squelched them and her guilt at technically picking the side against her best friend, quickly bid her farewells and headed towards her bike.

With narrowed eyes, Kanae shot one final glare at her sister that clearly said, "You've not heard the last of this", and followed her acting partner.

Sachi closed the door behind them and thought to herself as she went back to her room how glad she was that her unsociable sister had finally gotten herself a worthy friend.

-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -

"I'm sorry, Moko-san. I know I probably shouldn't have asked to borrow the manga, especially since you were against her having them in the first place."

Kanae kept silent and continued walking beside the boyclad-girl who had slowed her pace to let Kanae catch up as they headed to the far-away-parked bicycle, a stern expression on her face.

"She said it was a story about a girl who had to pretend to be a guy as well, so I really wouldn't mind reading it to see if there is anything else I can use for Izumi."

Kanae stopped walking and turned to face Kyoko who had also jerked to a stop.

_You already made a very convincing guy, you dim-wit. You don't need to rely on some silly manga story that is of cartoon drawings that are unrealistic to create your character!_

Instead of saying her true thoughts because they sounded eerily as a compliment that would probably make her victim to a killer hug, Kanae sighed.

"Mo, whatever. Just don't expect me to remind you to get them," she finally said, "I wouldn't care if the bag 'mysteriously' disappears when the brats get home. The money has already been wasted."

Kyoko smiled, since it looked like Kanae really didn't hold a grudge against her for her actions. "Where are they anyway?" Kyoko asked, curiously. They continued walking again.

"School, of course. Not that any education system would be able to teach those brats."

When they reached the bicycle, Kanae turned towards her partner again, and said, "I can't believe I let you talk me into letting you give me a ride on your bicycle. You'd think I didn't think this through when I decided to wear a dress instead."

Reminded that she hadn't yet commented on the outfit, Kyoko was about to do so but Kanae held her hand up in a 'Stop' sign.

"But if we're going to practice our roles, we may as well do it right. We start the 'scene' once we get on the bicycle, understood?"

Receiving a nod, Kanae continued, "So let's agree on the basic outline for the scene."

"Firstly, we need new names. Because I can't be calling you Kyoko when you are in guy-mode, and I don't think we should be using the actual character names out in the open."

"My character is called Kei," Kyoko answered instantly. _She even named her character already! _Inner Kanae yelled. Outer Kanae simply raised an eyebrow and continued.

"Okay, then my character will be Yuki, which is short for Yukino." _Ugh! Work smarter darn brain!_

Kyoko made a sound of assent, letting Kanae continue with what she had started to say.

"Okay, so for the scene, I'm thinking that it is Yuki's birthday, and Yuki had asked Kei to skip school with her to go hang out and do some shopping. Yuki is actually trying to get Kei to let herself be a girl, which is why she wanted to do it on a school day when the people that may recognize them would be at school."

"That sounds reasonable. The plot does quite fit Yukino and Izumi's relationship. Is there anything else?" Kyoko asked.

"No other rules. You act as Izumi a.k.a Kei, and I act as Yukino a.k.a Yuki. No script. I will react to you, and you will react to me."

"Okay. When does the scene end?"

"When we're back here."

Kei's thoughts and ideas were running amok in Kyoko's mind. To calm herself, Kyoko took a deep breath and let it out in a whoosh. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated on the upcoming scene.

In the darkness, she heard her best friend's voice ask her, "Ready?"

He opened his eyes and said, "And.. action."

* * *

><p>AN: So, I'm ready to be yelled at for the extremely late update. Thanks to all you patient readers. Have no fear, the show will go on. Enjoy! Thanks in advance for reviews - critiques and criticism welcome.<p> 


	21. Chapter 21

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 21 – Practice Part 2

The weather was wonderful. The sky was bright and clear, a cool wind was blowing to add to the light breeze from the ride. The new upgrade to his reliable bicycle that he had just installed the night especially for this occasion now seated the most important person to him – his beloved Yuki.

Keeping his eyes focused on the road, he couldn't help but steal a couple glances back at her. The wind was blowing through her hair, and she looked as lovely as usual sitting 'side saddle' on the new bike passenger seat. He'd even wrapped it with some old leather from a beat up cushion from the restaurant, since the metal bars wouldn't have been very comfortable.

It was her birthday, and he intended to treat her like the princess she was to him.

"Are you mad at me for asking you to skip class, Kei?" she asked, her matter of fact tone belied the dismay she was feeling at possibly upsetting her childhood and best friend.

The smile could be heard in his voice, "Not at all. It is your special day. And I did say we could do whatever you wanted."

"It is a lovely day out," she replied, enjoying the breeze.

As they rode into the shopping heart of the city, more than a few passersby noticed them.

"Wow, check out that girl on the back of the bike!"

"That lucky bastard's got him a hot one."

"Oh! I wish I could be in her seat!"

"What a lovely couple they look."

"Years ago, I used to ride your grandma around like that. How nostalgic."

Neither of the objects of those comments heard any of them, although Kei did notice the number of guys that turned their heads or stopped to stare at Yuki. He frowned a little at the guys that were with other girls that still let his passenger draw their eyes.

_Men really can't be trusted. They'd only hurt her. All they want is a pretty thing show off as a trophy._

"You're frowning," Yuki's voice cut through his thoughts.

"Sorry, I don't like it when guys that already have girlfriends admire you with their eyes," he apologized, though his words did not match his tone.

She laughed, a sweet singsong laugh, "Right back at you, Kei. There are tons of girls, attached or unattached, who hate me because I'm close to you."

"Well, those girls at school should know better than to try anything to you. I'll take down anyone who tries to hurt you – male or female."

Yuki laughed again and said in a playfully sarcastic tone, "How gallant of you. Though quite misplaced, since, I assure you, I can hold my own well enough. I am a cop's daughter, you know."

"I'm glad you realize you are a cop's daughter and not his son. Which is precisely my point - you're still a girl, you know," Kei retorted using the same tone she did for her last statement.

Kei knew his friend was glaring at his back through narrowed eyes that said, "You're a girl too!" even without looking at her. He just smiled. This was an age old quarrel between them. And one or two special days in a year wouldn't change that.

Quite simply, Kei had to remain a man, regardless of what Yuki felt she could handle. Kei could not be exposed, since Yuki's father had so carefully erased his original existence to keep him safe. Having lost so much already at such a young age, he was not going to let them lose anymore. That meant, staying a guy and keeping her safe.

"Well, it doesn't help the matter that you treat me differently than all the other girls. Add that to the fact that we live together under the same roof, the number of girls at school that hate me must be…" she trailed off as thinking, and continued, "Just about all of them."

"Nah, about 50% of them revere you from a distance, and 25% envy you for your looks and brains. Sorry, I think I can only claim credit for about 25% of them," Kei flashed a grin at her.

"And for that 25% I'm pretty sure I've already told them clearly that we are just childhood friends."

Yuki rolled her eyes and said, "Like that ever changed any of their minds."

Kei masterfully parked the bicycle along the sidewalk of their lunch destination. He'd picked out a simple noodle house called Ramen-ya that had a selection of ramen and other Japanese dishes that made for an economical, tasty and healthy lunch.

After allowing her to gracefully disembark the vehicle, he dismounted himself and locked the bicycle before walking with her into the restaurant.

The young hostess got a good eyeful of the male eye candy, and inwardly cursed the pretty girl he saw her come in with. But she was on the clock, so she reminded herself that there were other fishes in the sea and politely greeted them. As she led them to a table, she overheard Kei continuing their conversation from outside.

"Hey, maybe I could just get a real girlfriend, so they'll really know that we're just childhood friends who live together." The hostess smiled and began planning how to get his attention now that she knew he was available - she did so like the lookers.

She could not hide her shock and alarm at his counterpart's response to that statement, "Or you could find yourself a real boyfriend."

The hostess quickly recovered and excused herself, letting them know that their server would be right with them. As she walked away, she shook her head and thought how true the saying was that all the good ones were either taken or gay.

"Great work, Yuki. No doubt the hostess thinks I'm gay now," Kei said, shaking his head in resignation.

-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -

Not dwelling on the loss of a good looking man to the 'other team', the said hostess began reminiscing about a good looking gentleman that was here with not one, but two ladies about a week ago. She'd surmised that the younger one was a sibling or relative and was gauging how close he was with the other female. She'd been more than happy to be the object of his attention while he took care of the bill for the ladies since it meant that he was… open to opportunities.

No sooner had she finished wishing he'd drop by again soon did she see him walk through the hanging door cloth that had the words 'Welcome' on it.

"Kitami-san! What a pleasure to see you again so soon!"

"Ah, my dear Mayumi-san, I told you last time to just call me Taki," the man flashed her a wide grin.

"Oh, you know I can't do that while I'm at work, Kitami-san," she blushed prettily, a skill she'd practiced in front of the mirror many a times to be executed at will, while deliberately hinting at a hopeful off-work excursion with the man.

"Taki, quit flirting with the lady and let's get seats already." To Mayumi's dismay, he was with the younger girl again. Taki smiled at the hostess apologetically, and let her lead them to a booth as she mentally cursed the plain looking brat for her intrusion.

She was about to continue chatting up the man when her boss's voice flowed out towards her from behind the counter.

"Mayumi-san, please come to the back and help me with these menu covers."

Her horoscope for love today must have been 'Very Unlucky'.

-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -

It was five minutes later when Taki and Miki placed their orders for ramen and Miki got straight to main point for their luncheon meeting.

"You should know her as well as me, Taki," she started, "Why you still have to ask for my opinion for her birthday present is beyond me."

"Don't be like that, Miki-chan," Taki said in a whiny tone, "I'm already giving you a ride and buying you lunch. I'm just looking for a little insider information."

She'd contemplated the reasons for a spontaneous call from Taki last night, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what he wanted from her, considering Saria's birthday the coming weekend.

"Yeah yeah, so what did you have in mind?"

"There was a new cosmetic set from that brand she likes so much, Giordano," Taki said, going through his mental 'Saria's birthday present' list.

"Nope, she already got that," Miki interjected with her comment on that option.

"See, this is why I have to ask you. It's not like she tells me these kinds of things. Okay, how about some violin varnish?"

"No on two counts. One, you got her that last year, and two, you got her the bulk sized one, so she doesn't need more for a while," she responded, her eyes expressing her disdain at that choice.

"What, I thought she'd go through that a lot faster than that," Taki said, bringing his hands up in a surrender pose as he defended himself for thinking to give Saria the same thing as last year.

"OK OK, how about tickets to the NHK Symphony Orchestra playing at the Tokyo Opera City next month?" Taki continued.

"Hmm," she pondered, "That'd be a good one. I'm assuming you'll get her two so she doesn't have to go alone."

"Right," he replied. He went quiet for a few, before he asked, "Does she have a guy friend you think she'd be asking?"

A tiny spark flickered in the back of Miki's mind. This was the first time she'd gotten a hint from Taki that he was… concerned with whom she'd have chosen to go with. Deciding to prod a little, Miki replied, "No, I don't think so, and I'm not really interested so I'm probably not going to go with her even if she asked me."

"Hmm," It was Taki's turn to ponder. Meanwhile, Miki observed his expression. She couldn't say that his expression had any indication of a special meaning and was a little disappointed. She was even more disappointed when he moved on and said, "Well, I don't want her to feel down if she can't find someone to go with her, so how about tickets to Fuwa Sho's concert next weekend? Wouldn't you like to go with her for that? I can actually get some really good tickets for that one, and maybe even back stage passes."

"Fuwa who?" Miki answered, rolling her eyes, "I don't even know what genre that is, let alone who that is."

'Hmm," he said again.

When he remained silent a moment more while he thought up other ideas, Miki decided to give him a push in the direction she figured Saria would eventually thank her for, "Why don't YOU take her to orchestra show?"

At his unconvinced look, she continued, "You can even make it into a full day event. Specialized chauffeur service picking her up, taking her to dinner, and then going to watch the symphony."

"Being treated special on her birthday like that and going to see a good show? I think she'd really like that," she ended her advertisement.

"Hmm," he said once more. She waited for him to decide on that, hoping to figure out if Taki really did have special feelings for her cousin. When he agreed that that would actually be a great gift and that he'd do that, Miki was hopeful yet skeptical. He didn't quite say it was a date, but she wondered if Taki really even thought of it as such.

Before she could worry about it too much, their orders arrived and Taki had completely changed the topic back to her lack of music industry recognition to not even have heard of the latest pop music star whose concert he'd have been able to get tickets for.

She just wasn't interested. Nothing against the guy, she's sure the music had to be some sort of good since he's a star, but more so than idolizing a person, she just enjoyed music. Especially when they come with a story, like in a game, or in a scene, or an animation cinematic.

Intermittently throughout the meal, their conversation continued, in between delicious slurps and vigorous chewing. Miki could hear some voices travel to them from the booth behind theirs, but could not make out the words. Then she heard one of the voices singing, not words, but notes, a familiar song that she hadn't yet placed.

Taki recognized it in a heartbeat, and lifted his head from his bowl mid-slurp abruptly, startling the younger girl. He finished his slurp and listened for a couple beats more. It was Chopin's La Chanson de l'adieu, also known as Etude.

Intrigued, and he wasn't the only one, as he could see heads turning from the other tables as well as waiters, he wondered where the impromptu vocal performance was coming from. Setting down his chopsticks, he told Miki he'd be right back, and got up from his seat before she could ask him where he was going.

As he moved to the source of the singing, he was about to make his appearance while exclaiming his recognition of the song in a none-too-quiet voice, but the words were startled into inexistence, as did the music, when he recognized the beautiful lady whom the voice belonged to.

"Kanae-chan?"

* * *

><p>AN: Dun dun dun! Cliff hanger! How will they react to meeting someone who knows them? How hard will this make their practice? All this coming soon... after the holidays... In the meantime! Have a Merry Xmas everyone! Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'll be out of town myself for the holidays so probably two weeks before i get Part 3 of the Acting practice out ;)<p> 


	22. Chapter 22

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 22 – Practice Part 3

A/N: Yes I've been away for too long. No excuses, though I have plenty I'd try to give. I have one more chapter hiding at the moment, and wasn't planning on releasing this one until at least a couple more chapters were done, but I decided what the heck, I'll just load this one now. I'm really sorry for everyone waiting for so long. My muse has currently gone a bit flat, and my motivation to write has been conquered by a motivation to read ;) I hope to be able to write more soon. I have just discovered Kpop (oh boy, and there's a whole new fandom out there on that) so yeah... Here's more of this long drawn story ;) Hope you like it. Oh, Thanks Shiroyuki for beta'ing ;)

* * *

><p>"Or you could find yourself a real boyfriend," Yuki said.<p>

"Great work, Yuki. No doubt the hostess thinks I'm gay now," came the response.

_Typical. Play it off as a joke. Child's play._

Yuki smiled. Then, she was immediately brought to attention of her company when he bumped the bottom of his right fist into the loosely opened palm of his left, making a muffled clapping sound – a gesture that implied that he just thought of a great idea. His expression gave off the same vibe.

_Uh oh. What direction is she going with this?_

"That might just work!" he exclaimed, while taking a quick glance at the menu, "I'll just let them know that I'm interested in guys instead of girls, and they'll be gone like the wind!"

_Oh, we're still on that plot, huh._

"I don't know, Kei. I think that might have the opposite effect," she responded, in an uncertain tone.

"Huh? How so?" Kei asked, confusion etched across his face.

"With your looks, they'd probably go into more of a frenzy since unattainability is just that much more alluring," she explained, "Girls love the whole concept of BL, you know?"

"BL?"

_*mentally cringe* Dang it, why did I have to flip through Sachi-neesan's last manga before I threw it out? No! Bad imagination! Stop picturing the two boys in heated embrace! No! Replacing one of the boys with Kei and the other with Tsuruga-san is NOT better even if she is actually a girl! Get your hands off her, you perverted old man. *mentally smacks at imaginary Ren*_

Yuki replied while posed in an exaggerated dreamy look, "You know… Boys' Love? I can just see it now, you and one of the college guys helping out with the club staring deeply into each other's eyes, unaware of the screams from the girls who are supporting this forbidden love… Oh! What eye candy!" She grinned widely, awaiting his reaction.

_May as well use that material, eh? Let's see how you play this one out, Kyoko._

"WHAT THE? Why him?" he cried out in annoyance, "Does that guy think a couple years on us means that I'd just step aside and let him have you? I've seen the way he looks at you – he is bad news, Yuki. Stay away from him."

_Interesting. I'll bite this time._

"Oh?" Yuki replied, a hint of smugness in her voice, "I didn't say which guy, but funny how you thought of HIM first, isn't it?"

Kei's eyes widened as if realizing his slip up, and then narrowed accusingly at being caught in Yuki's trap. Resigned, he shrugged, "Whatever, you got me."

_That's it? Hmm, okay, I'll let it go. Don't want to make it too difficult since we didn't come up with rules on how far we can bring other characters into this scene._

Before she realized it, he'd flagged down a waitress and ordered for the both of them, not giving her a chance to say what she wanted off the menu.

When the waitress left, Yuki looked at Kei in frustration, "Well, that was childish of you. Not even going to let me order on my own?"

"What? Did I not get what you wanted?" he answered with nonchalance, daring her to say he was wrong.

Not able to deny it, she said with a pout, "Whatever," and earned a smirk from him.

There was a short silence as Kei's attention seemed peeled to the little advertisement stand on their table describing the specials and upcoming events and promotions. Kanae absent mindedly took in the sounds of the surrounding in this minor reprieve from the impromptu script. The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board as the chef prepared some kind of sashimi. The low instrumental elevator-like music playing from the speakers in the far corners of the room. The murmurs of conversations in other booths and the sushi bar. The whir of the ceiling fan above them.

_Pretty nice establishment. And it's not too far from the studio. I'll have to come here again sometime._

"Hey, Yuki," Kei's soft voice intruded her thoughts and brought her back into the role, signaling the end of the 'intermission' from the scene.

_Alright, let's see where you'll bring this scene to next._

"Hmm?" she answered, looking back at him. What looked back at her was a worried expression.

_What's with that worried look? Did we talk about anything worrisome? Are we still in character? She did call for Yuki, so I guess we must still be in character. Then, what's that look for?_

"You know, I really don't like that guy, right?" he said quietly.

_Rhetoric question or am I supposed to answer that? HOW am I supposed to answer that even? That line is similar to the part where Izumi is denying her feelings for Shin later in the story. But I thought we were going with an earlier time line since we were talking about the new club help as if we weren't close to them yet._

"I mean, he GLARED at me when I got close to you, can you believe that?" Kei continued, a little louder, a bit of anger lining his voice.

_Rhetoric question. Phew._

"That's a clear sign of a stalker tendency – that obsessive possessiveness. And he doesn't even know you! With that bleached and longer than school-acceptable hair, he's probably a delinquent and a player. I saw how he stared at you when he first saw you – like a wolf eyeing a piece of meat."

_Actually, if I know which scene she's actually referring to, it was supposed to be an expression as if he saw a ghost, since Yukino is supposed to resemble his deceased sister. But I'll assume she meant to exaggerate that for effect._

Yuki laughed lightly, "Don't you think you're overreacting a little, Kei? He hasn't really said or done anything bad, has he?"

"Not yet, he hasn't," Kei muttered in a barely audible voice.

"Besides, he is friends with our captain's older brother, and is there to help us with the club. We won't see him often, and I doubt we'd have to interact with him at all outside of club activities," Yuki said in a reassuring tone.

"Yeah well, the delinquent type may have some connections or interactions with THAT group. If it turns out he's related in any way, I will…" Kei's voice trailed off and his eyes turned cold and serious.

_That's a good expression. I know it's just an act, and even I'm almost affected.*mental shudder*_

Trying to lighten the mood, Yuki changed the topic a little, "But anyway, speaking of club activities, I'm really looking forward to the talent show we're hosting."

_Ah, the food is here, perfect timing. That plus steering the conversation into club activities means we can talk about easy stuff while we eat._

"Yeah, I think it's a great idea. Did you hear, some students in class 5 were going to do a comedy skit about our school?" Kei said, as he picked up his chopsticks to begin his meal.

"I heard that one of our juniors is the son of a popular magician, and he's going to be putting on a magic performance for us," Yuki replied enthusiastically as she began to eat as well.

As they ate, they continued discussing the various confirmed and rumored performances that were going to be showcased on the talent show. They had just about finished eating when Kei asked her if she knew what song she was going to play during the talent show.

"How about this song?" Kei asked, pointing a finger upwards to indicate the music that was currently playing through the speakers now.

_We're not done eating and you're already throwing me a fast ball? I obviously don't know this song! Well, two can play at this game._

"No, I don't think so. I was going to play Etude," Yuki responded.

"Etude? Which one is that again, I can never remember the names of the pieces. They're all like first symphony, second symphony, and in French or some other language." Kei exaggerated a roll of his eyes and shrugged at his lack of literary knowledge on the topic.

_She doesn't remember the name of the song I play in the script? Well, I guess since it's my song, and not hers, maybe she didn't review that scene too much. Or maybe… she's testing me. I'll show her._

"You know, it's the one that goes like this…" Yuki closed her eyes as if bringing up the music in her mind and began singing the melody of Chopin's Etude in a soft voice.

So engrossed with trying to produce the tune she was going to have to learn to play, she didn't realize that as she sang the tougher parts her voice grew louder to be able to reach the notes more readily. Nor did she realize the attention she was garnering from other tables. Even the chef looked up from his ministrations, the knife sitting unmoving on the cutting board.

"Kanae-chan?" came a voice, interrupting her concentration.

Kanae opened her eyes with a shock when she realized that, one, that was not Kei's voice, and two, the masculine voice called her by her real name.

_WE DID NOT PLAN FOR MEETING PEOPLE WE KNEW!_

* * *

><p><em>AN: Mimi Hwaiting!_


	23. Chapter 23

Melody of the Heart

Chapter 23 – Practice Part 4

"Kanae…chan?"

Kanae's attention was brought back to Kyo – no, wait. From the looks of the amused expression on her partner's face as the name was repeated, the scene was not over.

Kei tilted his head at an angle to look at the man who had called out to his Yuki and continued, "That's a pretty name, but I think you have the wrong person," using the male version of 'I' in his simple statement.

Kanae saw Taki-san's lips part in surprise, along with raised eyebrows and widened eyes. She figured that he had undoubtedly recognized his student and was going to call them out on the blatant lie in the previously uttered sentence.

Oh, he recognized them alright. But something in the bemused and confident eyes of the person in front of him made him hesitate from insisting that he knew them. Instead Taki decided to play along for a bit, to see if he couldn't figure out what they were up to.

"I'm sorry for my mistake. I came to find the enchanting voice that was singing the Etude, and your girlfriend looks very much like someone I know," he directed the statement to his pupil.

To both his and Kanae's surprise, Kei groaned out loud and dropped his head onto the table, his left arm crossed over his right on the surface and used to rest his forehead on. Then just as suddenly, he lifted his head back up, threw up his hands and exclaimed, "Even a random stranger thinks that you're my girlfriend at first glance, Yuki!"

Turning to face the aforementioned man, he asked with a serious expression, "Please humor me, oji-san. What made you think we were a couple?"

Kanae really didn't think that the man didn't recognize them, even with the change in hair style she'd went with and the boyish behavior of her companion. But she had to wonder again if he didn't, when he appeared a bit flustered with his response, "I didn't mean to assume, it was the first thing that came to my mind. Also, you both look like you're high schoolers, who should be in school right now, but who are instead in a booth at a restaurant without other youths. It's not that far-fetched of an assumption to think you're on a date."

Kei only responded with a thoughtful, "Hmmm…"

"Taki, who's there?" a new voice entered the conversation. Miki walked over next to him and looked at the two strangers in the booth that Taki was standing beside.

"Taki-san, is it?" Kei responded casually, "Sorry, it was horribly rude of me not to introduce myself and make you answer random questions from a stranger. My name is Kei, and this is my FRIEND, Yuki." He emphasized the word 'friend'. He extended his hand to the nice-looking girl with emerald eyes and asked, "And what might your name be, lovely Miss?"

"Miki," she smiled at the charming young man and shook his hand briefly.

It was starting to become obvious to Kanae that the scene wasn't going to be allowed to end just because of the unexpected meeting with Taki-san and his young looking 'plus one'. Let not it be said that she couldn't adlib her role under impromptu circumstances.

"A pretty girl walks up and now you're all the gentleman, eh Kei?" she picked up her role as the playful but sweet best friend deterring her childhood friend from his attempts to be flirtatious.

"Yah, Yuki! At least let me try to make a good first impression!" he fussed to his childhood friend, and the two continued bantering about first impressions and how deceiving or important they were.

Miki smiled and laughed at the obvious camaraderie displayed before her. Returning to her original task when she walked over, she spoke to Taki during a gap during the conversation, "Taki, the food is getting cold. We should probably go back to our table and finish our meal."

Nodding in agreement, albeit a bit hesitantly since Taki really wanted to find out to what extent his and Saria's students were going to continue with this peculiar charade, he excused himself from interrupting their lunch.

Kanae silently sighed in relief. But her relief was unfounded. Just before their unexpected guests were to leave the table, Kei went and said the exact opposite to what she was expecting.

"Why don't you two join us for the remainder of the meal?" Briefly, he turned to look at Yuki, as if expecting her to say something to back him up.

Kanae inwardly prayed this wasn't going to be more trouble than it was worth, and put up a friendly smile, "Yes, please. I'm actually a bit curious myself since you recognized the song, Taki-san."

Taki smiled widely in return, having been given an excuse to continue to participate. He looked over at Miki with silent pleading eyes. Miki was hesitant at first, but her own curiosity was piqued seeing that Taki really wanted to join them, and she didn't quite understand why. She nodded her assent, and the two of them went back to their table to bring over their stuff.

While they were gone, Kei winked at Yuki, and said, "Now, we won't be alone and people won't assume that you're my girlfriend."

Kanae and Yuki's eyes rolled mockingly. Kanae because she couldn't believe that they were still playing off the comment Taki made earlier, and Yuki because Kei didn't seem to realize that it didn't matter when the people they were really trying to convince weren't here.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: Sorry for the not very long chapter, I've been hiding this chapter because I hadn't completed the next. I'll try to do better. Rest assured, this story WILL be finished. Some day. *dodges bricks*


End file.
